Pep Guardiola's feelings on Enzo Maresca speak volumes as Man City eye up ex-Chelsea boss

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Enzo Maresca is emerging as the most likely candidate to succeed Pep Guardiola at Manchester City as speculation over the Spaniard's future continues to grow.

Maresca worked closely with Guardiola at City, serving as his assistant when the club won the Champions League back in 2023. The Italian then branched out on his own a few months later, winning promotion to the Premier League in his first senior management job with Leicester City before being lured to Chelsea the following summer.

The 46-year-old left the Blues in January and is seen as a top contender to replace Guardiola if his old mentor decides to call time on his Manchester City tenure at the end of the season.

The Guardian claim that Guardiola departing sooner rather than later is a 'growing possibility', with the revered former Barcelona coach enjoying a trophy-laden 10-year spell in Manchester.

It emerged earlier this year that Maresca and Manchester City have spoken in the past amid speculation he may one day succeed Guardiola.

And he has already been endorsed by his old boss, who described Maresca as an "incredible manager" shortly after his departure from Chelsea earlier this season.

"We won't talk much if we don't know which manager will be there and I don't know what's going to happen, concern is thinking about yourself and our people are going to help us with two tough games against Chelsea and Brighton ," Guardiola said when he was asked about the prospect of Maresca replacing him at City.

"Chelsea have always been dangerous and the Premier League is dangerous every game.

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"All I can say is that from my point of view Chelsea have lost an incredible manager and an incredible person. It's a decision from the Chelsea hierarchy so I've nothing to say. How lucky I am in the club where I am. My club is extraordinary."

A month earlier Guardiola lauded Maresca as "one of the best managers in the world ", saying his former protege did not get the credit he deserved for the work he was doing at Chelsea.

The Blues are looking for another head coach after parting company with Liam Rosenior, Maresca's successor, earlier this week. The former Strasbourg chief was just three months into a six-year contract, with Chelsea now poised to seek a coach with top-level experience in the summer.

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