What Maresca did which “really impressed” new staff members and should help Chelsea start fast

The attention of the footballing world – including Chelsea fans – is on the Euros and the Copa America at the moment. There are a host of Blues at both, and the former is about to get to the business end of the tournament.

It’s providing a welcome distraction from Chelsea matters for some, although of course behind the scenes the new coach is getting to work at Cobham, as our writer Simon Phillips has explained in his piece on the subject. He went into some interesting detail on what the new coach is getting up to while his squad are away competing or on holiday.

Firstly there have been “recruitment discussions” with the co-sporting directors, with Maresca “giving his views” on some of the names we’re looking at.

Then there’s the” homework” Maresca is doing on his current squad. “He’s asked for the data on each player from last season, and he’s been studying the detailed individual reports,” Phillips writes, adding that “staff members have been impressed with how he can recall each report on each player in full detail.”

Apparently Maresca has already met up with Romeo Lavia, “who he sees as key to his setup” next season, after the Belgian missed all but a few minutes of his debut season at Chelsea.

An important period

While Maresca is going to be judged by fans on what happens when we reach the friendly games next month and then the season after that, it’s actually this period which will end up being so crucial as he looks to get things ready so that he can get to work right away when the group is reassembled.

It’s going to be a major shift in style for everyone, and the more work he can get done in advance the faster we should see changes take effect.