John Terry to become Chelsea boss?! Legendary captain backed for first job in management as replacement for sacked Enzo Maresca

Chelsea sacked Maresca on New Year's Day after a dismal run of form saw the Blues fall away from the top of the Premier League table. While they did sit three points behind Arsenal just a month ago, they are now 15 adrift, and while they remain in contention in the League Cup, FA Cup and Champions League, they have decided to seek a new face in the dugout. And Keys, who claims to be speaking on behalf of Chelsea fans, believes that Terry deserves a shot, despite him never having managed a professional club before. He has not had a job in football since working as an academy coach at the club in 2023.

Keys wrote on X: "If I’m a Chelsea fan I want to see JT given a go. He’s a Chelsea man to the core - has served time elsewhere & there’s no reason he can’t do what Lampard is doing at Coventry - with better tools."

A report from Football.London has claimed that the Blues do not intend to appoint Terry, who has expressed his own shock at Maresca leaving.

He said on TikTok:  "Enzo Maresca has just been sacked by Chelsea and to be honest I’m completely shocked, I didn’t see it coming. I know things of late haven’t been how he would like. You can see and hear that there’s been tension.

"I’ve had so many phone calls this morning after the news and everyone expects me to know what’s happening. I haven’t got a clue what’s happening, I’m not involved in the first team so I don’t know.

"Just my opinion from afar, there’s clearly been tension between the manager and the owner and they’ve come to this decision."

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While reacting to Maresca's sacking, Terry pointed to the fact that he is "inexperienced", something that may well have ruled him out of contention.

He added: "It’s a big shock because rewind three or four weeks ago and we were playing so well against Barcelona. It was so good and fast forward four weeks and form and performances clearly haven’t been good enough.

"I think like the squad, the manager is inexperienced himself. It was his first full-time job in the top-flight and he has said how he’s still learning and how he’s got some things wrong at times. But I will say there’s always two sides to the story and there’s certainly things behind the scenes that I don’t know about. I just hear rumblings like everyone else does.

"I’m disappointed but there’s still loads to play for this season, Champions League, Carabao Cup, so whoever comes in has a lot to play for. As players you have to get on with it and step up an deal with it."

Liam Rosenior is seemingly the frontrunner to replace the Italian, as he is currently impressing with his work at BlueCo-owned Strasbourg. They are said to have ruled out Roberto De Zerbi as a potential appointment despite being linked with the Marseille manager. 

Chelsea play Manchester City this weekend and have confirmed that Under-21 manager Calum McFarlane will step up to take charge of the senior squad against Pep Guardiola's side. The Blues have an awful record against this weekend's opponents, and have not beaten them since the 2021 Champions League final, when Thomas Tuchel was in charge. McFarlane being the next manager to beat Guardiola in Chelsea blue would surely ensure he is a pub quiz answer forevermore.