Reporter Pete O’Rourke clarified that Chelsea is looking for a young, experienced manager who would not be heavily involved in hiring decisions at the club.
The 38-year-old McKenna is in high demand. Brighton is interested in the Ipswich manager, and Man United may invite him back to Old Trafford following the FA Cup final if Erik ten Hag is fired.
Maresca, 44, has supporters on the Chelsea board and is held in high regard by many in the game.
The prime objectives in what O’Rourke describes as “looking like a two-horse race” are the managers of Ipswich and Leicester, but the list still includes Girona manager Michel, Stuttgart manager Sebastian Hoeness, and Brentford’s Thomas Frank.
This season, both managers guided their sides to Championship promotion; Maresca’s Ipswich team won the league, while Ipswich came in second, one point behind.
The Leicester manager, who developed his abilities as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Man City, took over after his team was relegated last season.
With an average of 1.93 goals per game and 0.89 conceded per game in all competitions, his championship-winning team averaged 62.3% of the possession while amassing 97 points in the Championship.
McKenna, on the other hand, joined Ipswich in 2021 after serving as Ralph Rangnick, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and Jose Mourinho’s assistants at Manchester United.
After leading Ipswich to consecutive promotions from League One to the Premier League in his three years at the club, he attracted interest from elite clubs.
In all competitions last season, his team averaged 52.8 percent of the possession, averaged 2 goals per game, and gave up 1.24 goals per game.
Following Pochettino’s unexpected departure, both managers are still the front-runners to take over at Stamford Bridge, while Chelsea will carry on with their process.