Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand believes Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca deserves to be named Manager of the Season ahead of Liverpool head coach Arne Slot.

Despite the Reds being well clear at the top of the Premier League table, Ferdinand said that the turnaround at Stamford Bridge under Maresca’s management has been massive:

“It’s not a big difference [between the two]. I just think Maresca has come in and took a team from being a circus, a calamity…”

When challenged by Owen Hargreaves about his choice of manager, Ferdinand contrasted the situations at Chelsea and Liverpool prior to their appointments in the summer:

“I’m saying the level of change within the clubs is very different. [Maresca] has closed that margin more. [Slot] has had a wonderfully settled ship.”

“The ownership in Chelsea is so fragmented, it’s in the papers every other day. [Slot] has had a new sporting director but it’s not unstable.”

“It’s still a stable environment. There’s no noise. When Klopp was there, there was no noise. I’m fighting Maresca’s corner. He’s had more fires to put out than probably half of the league. And he’s stomped them out.”

Maresca deserves to be recognised for his achievements

As Ferdinand rightly points out, the situation off the pitch is not exactly stable. Todd Boehly and Behdad Egbahli are not on the best of terms at the moment, and they are reportedly trying to buy out each other’s stake in the club.

Combined with the turnover of players in Chelsea’s squad, Maresca had a massive job on his hands in terms of getting everyone at the club moving in the same direction. It’s a testament to his man-management and coaching skills what he has been able to achieve so far.

Chelsea are still a work in progress

As Maresca has been keen to point out in press conferences in recent weeks, the Blues are far from the finished article, with talk about a title challenge being rather premature.

Many believe that additional signings are needed, especially at the back, if they are to compete regularly at the top of the Premier League.

Find out who is in Chelsea’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here