Enzo Maresca has reached an agreement to take charge at Manchester City, with the Italian set to replace Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium.
The club is understood to be preparing for Guardiola's exit this summer following a decade that yielded 19 major honours, according to several reports.
Despite City insiders noting that Guardiola still has twelve months remaining on his contract, his departure appears imminent this week.
Maresca's return to Manchester represents something of a homecoming for the 46-year-old, who first arrived at the club in 2020 as a development squad coach.
Pep Guardiola is reportedly set to quit City at the end of the week
|REUTERS
During that initial stint, he guided City's young players to the Premier League 2 championship.
Following a period managing Parma in his native Italy, he came back to the Etihad in 2022 to join Guardiola's first-team coaching staff, stepping into the role vacated by Juanma Lillo.
His impressive work alongside the legendary manager caught Leicester City's attention, prompting them to offer him his first senior managerial position.
According to talkSPORT, the deal to succeed Guardiola was finalised during the March international break.
Maresca's tenure at Leicester proved transformative, as he steered the Foxes to the Championship crown and secured an immediate return to the top flight.
Enzo Maresca has already agreed to succeed Pep Guardiola at City, reports say
| PAChelsea subsequently appointed him to replace Mauricio Pochettino, entrusting the Italian with their ambitious project.
His time at Stamford Bridge brought silverware, with the Blues lifting both the Conference League and Club World Cup in 2025.
However, his relationship with the Chelsea hierarchy deteriorated, and he departed in January following tensions with the board.
Enzo Maresca worked with Pep Guardiola for one season at Manchester City | PAThe former City coach has been without a club since leaving west London, but his wait for a new role is now over.
Guardiola's tenure at the Etihad has cemented his status among football's greatest ever managers, with his haul including six Premier League crowns, three FA Cups, five League Cups and the Champions League.
The historic treble achieved in 2023 stands as perhaps the defining moment of his remarkable spell in English football.
When asked at the weekend whether his time at City represented the definition of greatness, Guardiola was characteristically direct: "Yeah, of course, 19 titles in 10 years is not bad.
"They know they don't need to wait until I'm leaving, they know I have been fun. So 19 titles - fight for 20 in 10 years - it's not bad, honestly."