Frank Lampard fires Chelsea warning to Todd Boehly after Enzo Maresca appointment

Former Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has warned the club’s owner Todd Boehly that he must be patient following the appointment of Enzo Maresca earlier this week. The Blues confirmed the arrival of the ex-Leicester City manager on a five-year contract to replace Mauricio Pochettino who walked away from the Blues dugout after just 11 months in charge following a two-day meeting with club officials last month.

It’s believed that the Chelsea owners see Maresca as the ideal fit to carry them into the future , having worked under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. The 44-year-old also draws comparison in that respect to current Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who has restored his club to challenging for the Premier League title in two consecutive seasons, although losing out both times to the pair’s former employers.

Maresca is the sixth manager to arrive at Stamford Bridge since Boehly took over the club from Roman Abramovich in May 2022, following Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Bruno Saltor, Lampard and Pochettino. Co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart highlighted their delight at appointing the Italian , saying in a club statement: “We are delighted to welcome Enzo to Chelsea.

He has proven himself to be an excellent coach capable of delivering impressive results with an exciting and identifiable style. “Enzo has deeply impressed us in our discussions leading up to his appointment. His ambitions and work ethic align with those of the club. We thoroughly look forward to working with him.”

Maresca himself also spoke about how joining Chelsea has been a ‘dream’ for him in management , claiming upon his arrival: “To join Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in the world, is a dream for any coach. It is why I am so excited by this opportunity.

“I look forward to working with a very talented group of players and staff to develop a team that continues the club’s tradition of success and makes our fans proud.” Maresca has already made his first move as Chelsea boss, securing former Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo as a free agent on Friday morning as his first signing of the summer transfer window .

The star will no doubt help to fill the void left behind by Thiago Silva, who left the Blues after a brilliant four-year stint to return to Fluminense in Brazil. However, over the past 20 years at Chelsea, there’s never been a period of three or more years without a managerial change, leading to many raising an eyebrow over the five- year contract Maresca was handed.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Blues legend Lampard called for Boehly to stop making such dramatic managerial changes and said: “It was good to see a positive end to the season [under Pochettino]. “I was there at the back-end of the previous season and I knew it was going to be a tough build and a tough ask because of where the club was at and the distance now to the top clubs.

“And I think there’s still a gap so you need to be patient and give the new manager the chance to do his work, assess the squad, maybe affect the squad and bring players in. “We’ll see how they go next year but they definitely finished on a positive note which was good to see. We’ll see what happens at the start of the season now.”