Former Chelsea player Michael Essien believes new boss Enzo Maresca will get the club back where they want to be.
The Blues have struggled for the past couple of seasons as they finished 12th in the 2022/2023 campaign and despite improving last season with a top six finish they missed out on Champions League football for the second consecutive campaign.
Mauricio Pochettino was replaced earlier this summer after just one season in charge, and Maresca has been chosen as the man to bring silverware to Stamford Bridge and get the club back in the Champions League.
Essien backs Maresca to get Chelsea back where they want to be
There’s no doubt the Blues have taken a gamble on the Italian who won the Championship title with Leicester last season, but they believe Maresca is right man to finally get the project up and running.
Maresca is currently with the squad on their pre-season tour of America, which hasn’t got off to the best of starts following a 2-2 draw with Wrexham and a 4-1 thrashing by Celtic.
The 44-year-old will be hoping to see an improvement in the games this week against Club America and Manchester City.
![Michael Essien in action for Chelsea.](https://talksport.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/07/ed5a74fd-69ec-4b28-94ac-f3b558a75938.jpg)
It was always going to take time for the players to adapt to Maresca’s style of football, with many being asked to play in ways they haven’t before.
Former Blue Essien has been speaking about Chelsea and believes Maresca will take the club back to where they want to be.
“Chelsea is a tough place, not only for players, but for managers as well,” he told talkSPORT.
“I think the team was gelling together well and playing good football towards the end of last season.