Enzo Maresca was an assistant to Pep Guardiola during Manchester City's Treble-winning 2022-23 campaign. Manchester City and Chelsea remain locked in negotiations about Enzo Maresca replacing Pep Guardiola. Guardiola announced on 22 May he would step down as City boss after a trophy-laden decade in charge, and Maresca was quickly identified as the leading contender to be his replacement.

Talks are at an advanced stage, with senior figures at both clubs discussing a compensation package for Maresca. The 46-year-old won the Club World Cup and Conference League during his time at Stamford Bridge but left in January and is keen to take the City job.

Chelsea feel they are due compensation under the terms of Maresca's departure as he was contracted to the club until 2029 and left just six months ago. The London club has been exploring their legal options and expect a compensation package to be paid, though it remains unclear both how much that might be, or when it will be resolved.

Maresca was an assistant to Guardiola during City's Treble-winning 2022-23 campaign and played a key role in the club's academy prior to joining the first team. The former West Brom and Juventus midfielder left City in 2023 to manage Leicester, whom he guided to promotion to the Premier League in his only season.

Compensation negotiations have been made more complex as Chelsea became aware of City's potential interest early in October and December. Chelsea sources also claim they were aware of complaints from Maresca about the transfer policy at Stamford Bridge. It is not known whether this played any role in Maresca's departure, but the relationship continued to further deteriorate over a number of issues, including medical staff and team selections.

Despite the tension, Chelsea sources say the hierarchy still respected much of Maresca's work with the players and he remained popular with the majority of the dressing room. The club feels the upheaval played a major role in the club's drop in form after his exit, with them not ending up qualifying for Europe.

Maresca had been open to renewing his contract early in the season amid interest from Serie A side Juventus. City last week had an opening bid for midfielder Elliot Anderson rejected by Nottingham Forest. The 23-year-old England international tops the club's list of midfield targets following the departure of captain Bernardo Silva, and sources say they are expected to make another bid.

City have long admired Anderson, and they will not be swayed from paying a significant fee which could become a record fee for a British player. Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is known to be a tough negotiator and is understood to want more than the £105m Arsenal paid to sign midfielder Declan Rice from West Ham in 2023.

Anderson is currently at the World Cup, but England boss Thomas Tuchel has said squad members will have permission to finalise transfers provided it does not significantly affect the team's preparations. BBC Sport has previously reported Anderson is leaning towards a move to City over rivals Manchester United.