Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola has shared what he feels would represent success for the club under Enzo Maresca next season.
Following the departure of Mauricio Pochettino last month the Blues moved quickly to appoint Maresca, who has signed a five year deal at Stamford Bridge.
The Italian guided Leicester City to the Championship title last season, and was an assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, but this is a huge step up and will be a massive test of his managerial credentials so early in his career.
Zola outlines what success for Chelsea would be next season
Having finished a disastrous 12th in the 2022/2023 campaign the Blues took strides forward last season under Pochettino and secured a top six finish, as well as making the Carabao Cup final and FA Cup semi final.
Chelsea finished the season strongly with five wins a row, with the team playing some brilliant football, leaving a real sense of optimism heading into the new campaign.
However, Pochettino’s departure feels like everything is back to square one again ahead of the new season, particularly with a rookie manager in charge.
Club legend Zola believes success for the Blues next season would be getting back into the Champions League, but admitted it would be a tough task.
“Success for Chelsea next season would be to get a Champions League spot,” he told Ladbrokes.
“We came close this year so if we can manage to do that, I think we can say it has been a very good season.
“Considering that the competition now has become incredibly strong with Man City, Liverpool, and now Arsenal coming very strong, it is tough.
“A Champions League spot for us will be a fantastic achievement, the standard is now very high so Chelsea will have a lot of ground to cover to be on their level and challenge for the title, there is a lot of work to do.”
The Blues can’t afford to go a third season without Champions League football, so the pressure will really be on Maresca to hit the ground running and get the club back into the top four.
