Enzo Maresca Subtly Altered Chelsea’s Transfer Plans During Departure

Chelsea has replaced manager Enzo Maresca with Liam Rosenior from Blue Co Strasbourg. The decision was not due to poor performance; rather, it stemmed from Maresca’s difficult behavior.

Maresca expressed frustration over the lack of support for his transfer suggestions. Ahead of the 2025/26 Premier League season, he was disappointed that the club focused on signing untested attacking players instead of a strong new defender.

The loss of Levi Colwill to an ACL tear before the season was a significant setback for Chelsea. Despite this, the club did not respond to Maresca’s repeated requests for a replacement for their key center back.

As he left, Maresca made it clear he wanted Chelsea to secure a center back during the January transfer window.

Now that Maresca is no longer part of the team, Chelsea is looking for a top center back. However, key targets like Nico Schlotterbeck and Alessandro Bastoni are currently out of reach.

Furthermore, Maresca’s vocal dissatisfaction about needing a center back has reportedly impacted Chelsea’s transfer strategy, even after his departure.

Kaveh Solhekol from Sky Sports reported that Maresca’s public statements have diminished Chelsea’s negotiating power. He noted, “Enzo Maresca’s public comments that Chelsea should sign a centre back weakened their leverage.”

This appears to be accurate, as Chelsea is mainly linked to one notable option: Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes. Although Jacquet is a promising young talent, he is still developing and may not be the immediate solution Chelsea needs.

When a club is obvious about its interest in a specific player, other teams tend to raise the asking price. If Chelsea had hopes of signing Schlotterbeck or Bastoni this winter, Maresca’s comments likely made those deals even less likely.