The Leicester City icon explains how the team feel about Enzo Maresca and why they are passionate about Chelsea

Leicester City title winner Andy King believes Chelsea were drawn to make Enzo Maresca their new head coach because of the Pep Guardiola factor.

Chelsea are in advanced talks to appoint City boss Maresca, the 44-year-old Italian who until last summer was Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City. Since then, Maresca has led City back to the Premier League at the first attempt since relegation 12 months ago, his style of football also impressing the Chelsea hierarchy, who are looking for a successor to Mauricio Pochettino.

“I played against Leicester twice this season (for Bristol City) and the way the team was set up was exactly the same with Pep,” King told the PA news agency. Why wouldn’t you when someone has just won four Premier Leagues in a row? To have that detail and knowledge and to learn from someone like Pep every day, why not make the best of it?

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“I’m sure he’s added his own things, but it’s important to be able to have direct access to Pep Guardiola and see how he works. That was very clear in the way he set up his team and the way he played.”

Midfielder King made 379 appearances in a 14-season spell at Leicester and won the Premier League title at the King Power Stadium in 2016. The Wales international, 35, retired at the end of the season and remains in touch tight with City. dressing room.

“I know the boys really enjoy working with the manager,” King said. “They always speak highly of him and after playing against him I can see why. There will always be a lot of interest in him because he is clearly a very good manager. As a Leicester City supporter I would love him to stay and I’m sure the club would be desperate to keep him, but I can certainly see why Chelsea preferred him.”

King spent six years at Chelsea before joining Leicester’s academy as a 15-year-old and believes the Blues will be aiming for a top-four finish next season after finishing sixth under Pochettino.

“Chelsea usually prefer a high-profile figure in terms of someone who can already compete in European competitions or the Premier League,” King said. But when Leicester played Chelsea in the FA Cup, they performed very well. Maybe that caught their eye and I think there’s no danger of him not being able to compete at Premier League level.

“When you spend the amount of money they have and you have the appeal of Chelsea, you can attract any player in Europe. Pochettino showed at the end that if you can get a bit of consistency, which you don’t always get with young players, that they can be a good team. I’m sure they’ll be looking to get to those places in the Champions League next season, whoever the manager is.”

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