Former Chelsea star questions Maresca decision after Pochettino praise

Former Chelsea and Leicester defender Robert Huth has questioned why the club decided to sack Mauricio Pochettino and appoint Enzo Maresca as his replacement.

Pochettino was dismissed last month after the Blues had ended the season on a high, winning their remaining five Premier League matches to finish the campaign in sixth. That secured a return to Europe in the process, having finished 12th under four different managers in the previous season.

However, Chelsea and Pochettino decided to part ways, meaning the search was on for another permanent manager. And after a number of candidates were linked, the Blues appointed Maresca as their new head coach, after the Italian had guided Leicester to the Championship title.

But Huth, who is currently the loans manager at Maresca’s old club Leicester, doesn’t see why the Blues have replaced Pochettino with the former Manchester City coach.

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Speaking to Gambling.com, Huth said: “I certainly like Pochettino’s style. When he was at Southampton and we played against his teams, when he was at Tottenham (too). They were always really, really well drilled, well organised, fit and athletic teams.

“And I think Chelsea fans were starting to see it towards the end of the season. The last 10 or 15 games, I thought they were excellent.

“So I was very, very surprised when he (Pochettino) left. And you can probably argue that Maresca is not as good a manager, as of now, as Pochettino is. It’s a strange one, certainly for the Chelsea fans to get their heads around.

“Why would you get rid of a really, really top class manager that managed in the Premier League, that managed in France, had success, for someone that’s unproven in the top league.

“Chelsea, obviously they want to go back to winning Champions Leagues and winning leagues. And it just feels like a strange move looking in from the outside.”