Former Chelsea star Gallas fears Maresca will be "sacked by Christmas"

Chelsea took a major turnaround in 2024 with the departure of Mauricio Pochettino and the appointment of Italian Enzo Maresca as manager of the club. The Blues have continued to spend money in search of a competitive squad that has been lacking in recent seasons, but the Italian coach is aware that he will also have to lose some pieces to keep up with the pace of recent signings.

Pending the final squad additions, the Stamford Bridge outfit have had a poor pre-season, with a solitary win against America (3-0), a disappointing draw against Wrexham (2-2) and another unexpected stumble against Celtic (1-4). Maresca's side improved against both Manchester City and Real Madrid, but in both matches, they again suffered defeats (4-2 and 2-1).

There are already historic voices at Chelsea who see it as difficult for the new project to work. Without going any further, William Gallas has spoken about the possibilities of Enzo Maresca and has doubted that he will continue with the team beyond Christmas.

"Even though it’s pre-season, I’m concerned about Chelsea and I’m concerned when I look at the squad. Despite all the money they’ve spent, the squad still isn’t good enough to qualify for the Champions League, they have so many players and they still need more quality"

"Could Enzo Maresca be sacked before Christmas? Anything can happen in football. I hope he can stay until the end of the season and show what he is worth, but it seems like there is always going to be the same problem in the team," he added.

"Managers now come in for six months or a year, I hope that Chelsea move away from that and stick with Maresca for the long term. His future all depends on the target of the manager and if they are happy with the top four or the top six. I think they will only change their manager if they find themselves in 15th place at the turn of the year. Otherwise, he’ll stay," concluded Gallas.