Chelsea warned they could lose Enzo Maresca to a ‘bigger club’ after ‘incredible’ start

Chelsea legend Joe Cole has warned his former side they could lose manager Enzo Maresca to a ‘bigger club’ if he continues to deliver trophies.

After being a surprise appointment from newly-promoted Leicester, Maresca has delivered two trophies so far in his Chelsea career in the form of the Conference League and the Club World Cup.

In the league, he took them to fourth and a return to the Champions League and Cole has warned the club could struggle to keep him if that trajectory continues.

“I think he’s worked with the owners,” he exclusively told F365. “Every club has a different personality. There’s a different way of working.

“He’s smart. He’s working with the owners and the framework around that and he’s improving players. He’s won trophies. I think he’s done brilliantly and I think the only problem for Chelsea is if he goes and adds another silverware, maybe there might be other clubs looking at him, bigger clubs. It’s two trophies in his first campaign. Incredible.”

Maresca’s management most recently came into focus after he tore into Liam Delap following the striker’s red card in the League Cup.

While the Italian did later row back on his criticism, Cole suggested it was a tactic Maresca was using to get the best out of his player.

“I think what Enzo is trying to do there is, he’s trying to speak to his player through the media,” Cole, who played under the likes of Jose Mourinho, said. “I’ve watched Liam, I think he’s a good player, and he’s got a lot of potential.

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“He plays on the edge. Some players have to play on the edge. They need that and Enzo is probably thinking at the moment, you need to find a way of playing on the edge by controlling that edge.

“They need to find the line with Liam. That’s a young player learning his trade. From Liam the player’s perspective, I’ve got no problem with it. From Enzo’s perspective, he’s trying a new communication tool, maybe to get the best out of him.

“If I was working with Liam Delap and I was in the Chelsea coaching staff, that’s a conversation over a cup of tea. As you get yourself going, you get to know the person, and then you start building that trust and that relationship, and then you work it out together, because it’s just a young man learning his trade and becoming a player he can be.”

Cole played alongside Wayne Rooney who was another striker that played on the edge and Cole suggested Delap should look at Rooney for an example of how to control the aggression.

“Rooney played on that line, and obviously overstepped it at times. He would admit that,” Cole said. “But Rooney was such a genius. You couldn’t leave him out. He was the best player in the country for 10 years, arguably one of the best players we’ve ever produced, maybe the best player we’ve ever produced.

“But again, he played on the edge, and Liam plays on the edge. Liam will have to learn to taper it a little bit and that’s what you get when you buy young players. And I think it’s good for Enzo Maresca.”

Joe Cole was speaking to Football365 to promote his new book Luxury Player, available to order here.

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