Enzo Maresca reveals approach from Premier League rivals before Chelsea appointment

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has revealed he was approached by another "important club" before signing his contract with the Blues.

After the mutual decision to part ways with Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea quickly turned to Maresca and snapped the former Leicester City manager up on a contract which runs until 2029.

It could have ended up different, however, as Maresca admitted he was offered the chance to join another club late in his negotiations with Chelsea.

"They asked me, 'do we still have time or is it too late?'" Maresca told the media. "But by then I was already taking my decision."

Maresca declined to reveal the identity of the team who failed to convince him to look away from Chelsea.

In terms of clubs who changed managers this summer, Brighton & Hove Albion replaced Roberto de Zerbi with Fabian Hurzeler shortly after Maresca joined Chelsea.

Manchester United were also conducting a significant review of Erik ten Hag's performance as manager, deciding to keep the Dutchman around nine days after Chelsea finalised Maresca's arrival at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca recently admitted he hopes to match the level of Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola but urged fans to steer away from comparisons to his former boss.

"I would like to reach the same level [as City] as soon as possible," he told The Athletic. "Every manager is asking for time, especially when you change the idea completely.

"The big difference between us and the teams that dominate, Manchester City and Arsenal, is that one club has had the same manager for eight years [Guardiola] and the other one for five years [Mikel Arteta]. We have had two or three weeks.

"What I don't like is people, or you, or fans, or the club expecting the same football that Manchester City is doing. Because when I joined Leicester and I met the chairman and sporting director, they asked me, 'We want to change the style and we want to play the same way that City play'. And I told them, 'We don't have the same players and I am not the same manager'.

"The same thing when I met Chelsea. I said, 'The idea is that idea, but probably we need time because the players also need to understand what way we want to play and it's a bit different'.

"This is something that I struggle a little bit with sometimes, when I see something saying, 'Because he's bald and with a beard, he wants to play the same'. No, I don't want. I try to play the way that we want to play. It is probably close because I fell in love with that idea, but that does not mean it is exactly the same way."

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