Leicester City midfielder Harry Winks hailed Enzo Maresca as the best manager he’s ever played under ahead of the Italian’s move to Chelsea.
Maresca guided Leicester to victory in the Championship this season, which has secured promotion back to the Premier League.
The 44-year-old, who spent a year as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City before joining Leicester, is now the leading candidate to replace Mauricio Pochettino as Chelsea manager.
And Winks already predicted this season that Mareca is destined for success with an elite club.
‘He’s by far the best manager I’ve worked for,’ Winks told Sky Sports in March.
‘He’s incredible. I think everybody will say he’s going right to the top in [terms of] managerial stature. He’s got everything.
‘He’s a great man-manager. He’s tactically incredible, some of the decisions that he tells us to do before the game and how he views the match is something I’ve never experienced before in football.
‘So, yeah, it’s opened my eyes a lot to football in the way it’s played and the kind of Pep Guardiola style as well, I know he worked with for a long time.
‘I’m loving my football, it works perfectly for me. It’s exactly the kind of football that I want to play and buy into.
‘ I think since he has come in, I’ve learned so much and continue to do that.’
In a separate interview with talkSPORT in February, Winks praised Mareca’s ability to communicate clearly with Leicester’s players.
‘He’s incredible in every way,’ said Winks.
‘He’s a manager who I think will certainly go to the very top. His understanding of football is something I’ve never witnessed before.
‘I think his approachability and man-management is exceptional. I’ve really enjoyed working for him so much already and I’m still learning so much every day.
‘When you go out on the pitch you know exactly what to do and how the opposition are going to operate and what you can do to affect that.
‘To do it so simply is the most important thing. That’s a thing a lot of managers probably struggle with, getting the message across, but the gaffer does it so well here.’
