Enzo Maresca turned down a move to Southampton and now Manchester City’s treble-winning coach could take over at Championship rivals Leicester City instead.
So says the Daily Record anyway.
43-year-old Enzo Maresca certainly looked like a picture of success as Man City’s double decker bus rolled through the streets of a torrential Manchester on Monday night, puffing on cigars and basking in the glow of Champions League glory.
The ‘extraordinary’ Maresca sat at the left hand of Pep Guardiola as City claimed the treble in Istanbul.
But, like Mikel Arteta before him, the former West Brom, Sevilla and Fiorentina midfielder may now be about to ‘go solo’, although time will tell if Maresca proves to be more John Lennon than Ringo Starr.
It seems that the Italian could not ‘Imagine’ leaving City for the South Coast, however. According to the Daily Record, Maresca turned down the Southampton job earlier in the summer. Although – if Saints supporters are asking to ‘Gimme Some Truth’ – the eventual appointment of Russell Martin could see a club who finished bottom of the Premier League last term land on their feet.
Enzo Maresca in talks to leave Man City for Leicester
Martin, per The Sun, should finally be confirmed at St Mary’s this week, while Maresca now holds talks with Leicester City.
The former guided Swansea City to within three points of the play-offs last term, despite a series of off-field issues. The latter, in contrast, is totally unproven in the second tier.
That, of course, is no obstacle to success. Nuno Espirito Santo, Marcelo Bielsa, Marco Silva and Vincent Kompany didn’t do too badly during their first stab at the Championship. But the appointment of Maresca certainly falls into the ‘risky’ category, while Martin arguably represents more of a ‘safe pair of hands’.
The Daily Record say that talks between the two parties began mere ‘hours’ after City beat Inter Milan to claim Europe’s biggest prize for the first time. Despite interest from Celtic, the King Power now appears Maresca’s ‘most likely destination’.
Martin, meanwhile, is already drawing up plans to construct a new-look Southampton side in his own possession-based image. The 37-year-old could look to raid Swansea for midfield duo Jay Fulton and Matty Grimes.
The post Report: 43-year-old coach rejected Southampton and could now join Champ rivals instead appeared first on HITC.
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