Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca believes the club is poised to dominate the Premier League in the next five to ten years, despite his team's impressive start to the current season. While Chelsea sit third in the table, level on points with Arsenal, and have recently surpassed struggling Manchester City following a commanding 3-0 win over Aston Villa, Maresca remains cautious about his team's title prospects this season.
Maresca has consistently downplayed Chelsea's chances of competing for the Premier League title this year, citing the team's relative inexperience. Despite significant financial investment under the ownership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, which has seen the club spend over £1.5bn on new players, Maresca maintains that Chelsea's squad is still in the early stages of its development. The club's focus has been on signing younger players on long-term contracts, balanced by significant player sales.
Key signings such as Enzo Fernandez, Moisés Caicedo, and Nicolas Jackson are beginning to find their form, with the young talent of Cole Palmer also making a mark over the past 18 months. However, Maresca argues that the squad's average age of just over 23 makes it difficult for them to compete at the highest level in the immediate future. He has expressed his belief that Chelsea will ultimately fall short in their title challenge this season, emphasizing the importance of long-term development over short-term expectations.
We're not in the title race. We are not, in my opinion, Maresca said. He went on to reveal that during his first meeting with the club’s owners and sporting directors, he confidently told them that Chelsea, due to the age and quality of its squad, is well-positioned to become a dominant force in English football over the next decade. "In the next five to 10 years, Chelsea will be one of the teams, or the team, that will dominate English football," he reiterated.
Maresca also stressed that the club's target is not about achieving immediate success but rather focusing on building something lasting for the future. They didn't ask me for any target, he said. "Only to try to build something important for the next years, and I think we are heading in the right direction." For Maresca, the focus is on the long-term vision, rather than immediate results.
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