Chelsea and head coach Enzo Maresca have parted ways with immediate effect less than two years into his contract.

The Athletic reported earlier on Thursday that the club’s board were to meet that day to discuss Maresca’s future, with Chelsea winless in their past three games.

The Italian had been on a five-year deal through to 2029.

A club statement later on Thursday confirming his departure read: “Chelsea Football Club and head coach Enzo Maresca have parted company.

“During his time at the club, Enzo led the team to success in the UEFA Conference League and the FIFA Club World Cup. Those achievements will remain an important part of the club’s recent history, and we thank him for his contributions to the club.

“With key objectives still to play for across four competitions including qualification for Champions League football, Enzo and the club believe a change gives the team the best chance of getting the season back on track.

“We wish Enzo well for the future.”

Maresca was the Premier League’s manager of the month in November but sparked uncertainty over his future with comments following their win against Everton on December 13 that the previous 48 hours had been his “worst since I joined the club, because many people didn’t support us”.

The Athletic revealed days after the comments that the head coach is high among the candidates Manchester City are considering in the event of Pep Guardiola leaving next summer. The Catalan is under contract until 2027 with City clear they have no managerial vacancy.

Sources briefed on the matter not authorised to speak publicly indicate Maresca informed Chelsea — twice in late October and again in mid-December — that he was talking to people associated to City about his candidacy for the managerial position if and when a future vacancy arises. This was something he was contractually obliged to do in relation to talks with any other club.

The two teams meet each other in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday and it remains to be seen who will be in charge for Chelsea following Maresca’s departure.

Liam Rosenior, who has impressed at fellow BlueCo club Strasbourg, is expected to be among the candidates considered as a successor but Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner is not in the frame.

Chelsea’s long-held plan had been to review Maresca’s performance after two years in the summer but the situation has come to a head following Tuesday evening’s draw with Bournemouth, a third game without a win and one which saw both the manager and his side booed off at full-time at Stamford Bridge.

The club remain firmly behind the approach installed following the takeover by the Clearlake Capital-Todd Boehly consortium in 2022 with the next head coach expected to fit into it and quickly stabilise and improve results.

Maresca was appointed by Chelsea in June 2024, the sixth manager since Roman Abramovich’s exit. He joined the London club off the back of guiding Leicester City to the Championship title and automatic promotion to the top flight at the first attempt.

In his first season at Stamford Bridge, Maresca won the Conference League and the newly-expanded Club World Cup.

Chelsea sit fifth in the Premier League, 15 points behind leaders Arsenal and only five points above 14th-placed Brighton & Hove Albion.

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‘The speed of Maresca’s departure is shocking’

Analysis by Chelsea correspondent Simon Johnson

Even by Chelsea’s standards, this is extraordinary. On December 12, Enzo Maresca was named Barclays Manager of the Month for November. Three weeks later, he is gone.

The speed of Maresca’s departure at Stamford Bridge is pretty shocking. It was only in late November that Maresca engineered one of the most impressive wins of his tenure — a 3-0 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League.

Five days later and Chelsea sent out a statement that they might be title contenders by securing a 1-1 draw with Arsenal, despite being down to 10 men for nearly an hour due to Moises Caicedo’s first-half red card. They were third in the Premier League, just six points behind their London rivals. Now they are a further nine points off the league leaders and making another change in the dugout.

This is a situation that was not in Chelsea’s plans and could have major ramifications for their season. This month alone, they have nine games in all four competitions, and confidence is already low after a run of two wins from their previous nine fixtures.

Chelsea had always intended to review how the club was progressing, including Maresca’s performance, at the end of the season, his second in charge. This was still the case earlier this week. For the Italian to go with so much left to play for emphasises the extent to which things have broken down.