Five big summer tasks for Leicester City’s new manager to succeed Enzo Maresca

Provided Leicester City quickly appoint a successor to Enzo Maresca, who has left Chelsea, the new manager will have around two months to prepare the squad for the big kick-off on 17 August.

Thanks to City’s success in the Championship, the new boss will not be tasked with turning around a team in disarray. But that doesn’t mean they have time to put their feet up.

Here, we highlight the five big jobs that should be on the new manager’s summer to-do list to get City in a position to challenge for Premier League survival. That’s a lot to deal with…

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Evaluate the pre-sales team

By the end of June, City must balance its books. They have been charged for an alleged breach of profit and sustainability rules – and could face a points deduction – so they don’t want to hang another charge on him as they prepare for the Premier League.

It means they have to make a profit on the players before the accounting period closes on June 30. But while City and Maresca may have had ideas about which players are dispensable and who have more value on the transfer market than they do on the pitch, the new manager may have other ideas.

Take Victor Kristiansen as an example. The left back did not fit into Maresca’s formation, but he can work for the new boss. And as a young, developing and committed player, he might be worth keeping.

So the new boss needs to quickly assess all the players at his disposal and decide who he thinks can play a role in his team. That includes the club’s most important young players. If the likes of Will Alves and Sammy Braybrooke are deemed fit for the first team, then that eases the pressure on the transfer market.

Work with the recruitment team on objectives

Once July comes, City can start to think about the positions they need to strengthen in order to get the team to a place where they can challenge for Premier League survival. Next, the new head coach will need to sit down with the recruiting team to determine the attributes they are looking for at any given position.

Transfers can sometimes be at the heart of a power struggle between a manager and the club he works for, but any incoming new boss should have faith in the scouting team City have in place. Head of recruitment Martyn Glover has been praised by Maresca for unearthing Abdul Fatawu, while bids for lesser-known players such as Mads Hermansen and Stephy Mavididi have paid off for the club.

Players win after Maresca exits

Unlike when a manager has been sacked and the team is perhaps more open to new ideas to change form, City’s new boss will be walking into a team that has not only won a title, but loved their man who led them to this. The new manager will have to work to show that they are worthy of being Maresca’s successor.

The players are professionals and will get on with the job, but they were very impressed with both Maresca’s tactical knowledge and work rate. To convince the team that they can maintain their good form in a higher division, the new coach will have to prove that he can approach Maresca on both fronts.

Execute the tactics for the return to the Premier League

City arrived in the Premier League with a very clear way of playing. The new boss must determine what to keep from Maresca’s year in charge and what to change.

Most managers have distinct playing styles and will not consider what their predecessor did. But when Claudio Ranieri took over, he made the sensible decision not to change much at all from a side that had been in good form before his appointment, and that proved to be a masterstroke.

From the outside, it looks like City need to continue playing as they have, sticking to the methods that got them promoted. But an element of pragmatism has to be added to the mix, knowing City won’t be back in the first place.

No more club drop kicks

This is a specific concern that needs to be addressed and will need to be focused on throughout the season. Simply put, City are still not good enough in games.

For several years they were a problem under Brendan Rodgers and although the club improved defensively after the appointment of specialist coach Lars Knudsen in the relegation season, they were still lacking in attack. This season, despite promotion, they haven’t been great from set pieces.

According to Opta data, City ranked 22nd out of 24 clubs for expected goals from kicks, ranking just ahead of Birmingham and Plymouth. Considering the number of corners and free kicks they have had compared to their rivals, it is poor.

In defending set pieces, they did better, but still not as well as would have been hoped, ranking 13th for expected goals conceded from set pieces. In the Premier League, it will be more difficult to score and defend your set-pieces, so it is an area the new manager will need to work on considerably to get City in shape.

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