Enzo Maresca held talks with Manchester City as Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior emerges as leading candidate for Chelsea vacancy - Paper Round

The Guardian claims that Enzo Maresca had held talks with Manchester City and Juventus prior to leaving Chelsea on New Year's Day. Elsewhere in Friday's Paper Round, a leading candidate has emerged to replace the Italian at Stamford Bridge. West Ham are closing in on a double deal to strengthen their attack, and Pascal Gross is on the verge of returning to Brighton.

Maresca told Chelsea about City talks

Enzo Maresca had informed Chelsea he had held talks with Manchester City about the possibility of replacing Pep Guardiola, according to The Guardian.

The Blues announced the departure of Maresca on New Year’s Day amid a poor run of form which had seen the club fall to fifth place in the Premier League.

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It comes just weeks after Maresca had cryptically described the build-up to the 2-0 win over Everton as the "worst 48 hours" he had experienced at the club.

"Enzo Maresca’s shock departure at Chelsea came after he informed the club that he had held talks with figures associated to Manchester City over replacing Pep Guardiola," writes the outlet.

"Chelsea have been weighed down by uncertainty ever since cracks in Maresca’s relationship with the board became apparent last month, but there is a feeling at Stamford Bridge that the Italian was looking to engineer an exit before a parting of the ways was confirmed on New Year’s Day.

"There was deep dissatisfaction with Maresca’s decisions during games, but the bigger issue was his conduct away from the pitch.

"The situation has been volatile ever since he made cryptic comments about experiencing his ‘worst 48 hours’ at the club after the win over Everton on December 13.

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"Mystery surrounded those remarks, but there is now the added context that Maresca told his bosses – twice in late October, then in the days after the Everton game – that he had discussed succeeding Guardiola should the Spaniard depart City at the end of the season. Maresca was Guardiola’s assistant at the Etihad in the 2022-23 season.

"Sources have said that Maresca, who has agreed a severance package, attempted to use interest from Juventus and City as leverage for a new deal. His contract was due to expire in June 2029. Chelsea were unimpressed with the request and did not start talks.

"It is understood that Maresca, who has been in charge for 18 months, said his goodbyes to staff and players on Thursday morning."

Rosenior leading candidate for Blues role

The Mirror reports that Strasbourg head coach Liam Rosenior is the leading candidate to be Chelsea’s next boss.

Rosenior, who had previous spells at Derby and Hull, led Strasbourg into European football and enjoyed an impressive victory over Crystal Palace in the UEFA Conference League recently.

After 16 games, Strasbourg are seventh in the Ligue 1 table.

"Rosenior, 41, has big admirers within the Chelsea hierarchy for his style of football, personality and man-management style," reads the article.

"Despite not being a big name, there is a belief he would win people over with his strong communication, personality and also a clear success with working and championing young players.

"Chelsea are looking to make an appointment to replace Maresca as soon as possible, with Under-21 coach Calum MacFarlane taking the press conference before the team's trip to Manchester City on Sunday."

West Ham closing in on double deal

West Ham are close to completing a deal for Gil Vicente striker Pablo and Lazio's Taty Castellanos.

The Hammers are in the relegation zone in the Premier League, four points from safety, having scored just 21 goals in 19 games.

It is therefore no surprise that Nuno Espirito Santo's side are looking to strengthen in attack this month.

"West Ham are closing in on a double deal for Gil Vicente striker Pablo and Lazio forward Taty Castellanos," writes the London Standard.

"Standard Sport understands a deal for Pablo is closer to completion than Castellanos, but West Ham are in discussions over both deals.

"21-year-old Pablo has scored nine goals in 12 games this season in the Portuguese top flight.

"Castellanos, meanwhile, has scored two Serie A goals for Lazio, having missed two months of action with a hamstring injury."

And Fabrizio Romano reported on X on Thursday night that West Ham were sealing the deal to sign Castellanos.

The Standard also claims West Ham have agreed to sell Luis Guilherme to Sporting CP in a deal worth £17.4 million, while Niclas Fullkrug is closing in on a six-month loan to AC Milan.

Gross to make Brighton return

Pascal Gross is on the verge of making a return to Brighton.

The Sun claims he underwent a medical on Thursday night and will seal a £1.5m move back to Albion just 18 months after leaving for Borussia Dortmund.

"He will likely make his second debut in next Wednesday’s clash with Manchester City," writes the outlet.

"Gross, 34, spent seven seasons at Albion in his first spell and played more than 230 games for the Seagulls before joining Borussia Dortmund for around £8.5m in July 2024.

Pascal Gross could be on his way back to Brighton

Image credit: Getty Images

"He was Brighton’s player of the year in his final season with the club.

"Gross played 49 times in all competitions in his first season in yellow, but has found minutes harder to come by in this campaign. He’s played 16 games but has only two starts since the start of November.

"Six months away from the World Cup, Gross was also left out of Julian Nagelsmann’s last couple of squads having been a regular for the previous two years."

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