Enzo Maresca has been Chelsea manager for less than 24 hours but trouble is already brewing between him and the club’s owners.
That is according to Give Me Sport, who report that Maresca is immediately at odds with Chelsea over the future of goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
Fabrizio Romano reported on Monday that Maresca is a big fan of the Spanish goalkeeper and wants him to be his number one at Stamford Bridge next term.
READ MORE: Winners and losers of Enzo Maresca to Chelsea
However, Give Me Sport report that Chelsea have already made the decision this summer to sell Sanchez as he has struggled since joining from Brighton.
Sanchez has been put up for sale, while Maresca has made it clear he wants Sanchez to stay.
It remains to be seen whether Maresca and Chelsea owner Todd Boehly will come to an agreement over the future of Sanchez.
READ MORE: Latest Chelsea transfer news
But if Chelsea were to persist with selling Sanchez this summer, this would not be a positive start for Maresca.
On Monday, Chelsea announced the appointment of Maresca as their new head coach on a five-year contract.
The Italian succeeds Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge for the 2024/25 season and beyond.
The Argentine left Chelsea by mutual consent following the conclusion of the 2023-24 campaign, with the Blues managing to sneak into the Conference League with a late-season surge up the table.
Maresca led Leicester City to the Championship title last season, playing some of the most impressive football in England in the early parts of the campaign.
There has been some opposition to Maresca’s appointment from fans, with Leicester losing seven of their final 14 games of the season and just about limping over the line.
Chelsea reportedly paid €10 million in compensation to buy the 44-year-old Italian out of his Leicester contract, illustrating how highly they rate him. Maresca quickly emerged as one of the top candidates for the job and personal terms did not prove an issue.
Maresca beat Kieran McKenna, Roberto de Zerbi and Thomas Frank to the post at Chelsea.
