Enzo Maresca is poised to sign a three-year contract with Manchester City, having agreed to replace Pep Guardiola.
News broke on Monday night that Guardiola would be leaving the Etihad Stadium at the end of the campaign after a glittering decade in charge.
The 55-year-old has guided City to 17 major trophies, and 20 in total, ever since replacing Manuel Pellegrini back in 2016.
It has long been an open secret that Guardiola would be leaving this summer, despite having a year left on his contract.
And Maresca will arrive as his replacement, with the Italian currently out of work since leaving his role as Chelsea boss in contentious circumstances in January.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Maresca will sign a three-year deal at the Etihad.
The news has leaked ahead of any official City announcement, with club insiders understood to be saddened by the news that Guardiola's tenure is now drawing to a close.
Enzo Maresca is poised to sign a three-year contract with Manchester City, having agreed to replace Pep Guardiola
|PA
Roughly 18 months ago, many expected Guardiola to leave.
However, after talks with the City hierarchy, he stunned the footballing world by deciding to extend his stay with the club instead.
Guardiola has won six Premier League titles, the Champions League, three FA Cups and five EFL Cups since replacing Pellegrini all those years ago.
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Maresca previously worked at City as an assistant to Guardiola.
He started his managerial career in Serie A, winning four his 14 games in charge of the Italian side, before returning to City after a previous spell as manager of their Elite Development Squad.
In June 2023, Maresca took over at Leicester City.
He immediately made his mark at the King Power Stadium, guiding the Foxes to Premier League promotion at the first time of asking.
His work with Leicester convinced the Chelsea hierarchy that he was the right man to replace Mauricio Pochettino when the Argentine was relieved of his duties in 2024.
Pep Guardiola has won 17 major trophies, and 20 overall, during his time with Man City | PAMaresca won the Conference League with the Blues, while he also oversaw their Club World Cup triumph nearly 12 months ago.
However, in January, he left under a cloud after results worsened.
It also emerged around that time that Maresca had held talks with City about replacing Guardiola, with Liam Rosenior swiftly installed as his successor.
How he fares replacing his old friend remains to be seen.