Chelsea move towards appointing Leicester boss Enzo Maresca as their new manager as talks accelerate, with sources saying Italian is new leading candidate, after one rival for the job got call to tell him he 'hasn't made it'

Chelsea are moving towards appointing Leicester boss Enzo Maresca as Mauricio Pochettino’s successor, with talks accelerating over the weekend.

The Italian is open to joining Chelsea despite earning promotion with the Foxes into the Premier League last season.

Mail Sport reported on Thursday that Chelsea had begun the process of holding formal interviews with candidates and multiple sources are claiming Maresca is the club’s leading contender to replace Pochettino who left the club last week.

Kieran McKenna had been a contender, but Brighton are trying to appoint him as Roberto De Zerbi’s successor.

Chelsea called the Ipswich head coach last night as a courtesy and out of respect to let him know that he had been close to reaching the final stage of their search, but hadn't made it. 

The Blues continue to admire McKenna for the back-to-back promotions he achieved with the Tractor Boys.  

McKenna also has interest from Manchester United, who look set to part with Erik ten Hag following an end of season review.

Thomas Frank, head coach at Brentford, is another contender for the Chelsea job.

De Zerbi and Ruben Amorim are among the other managers the Blues are understood to have considered during the process.

But the club’s desire to appoint a young, progressive head coach that can grow with the team has seen Maresca, who worked under Pep Guardiola, is emerging as a key factor in Chelsea’s decision to move forward with he highly-rated Italian.