Chelsea under-21 head coach Calum McFarlane will take cost of the senior group’s Premier League fixture in opposition to Manchester Metropolis on Sunday.
The Blues parted methods with Enzo Maresca on New Yr’s Day, reportedly on account of rising pressure between the Italian coach and the board.
Maresca led Chelsea to Convention League and Membership World Cup success final season, however one win of their final seven league video games put stress on the previous Leicester boss.
McFarlane revealed that he and his teaching workers have completed some scouting on Metropolis, regardless of discovering out about their function within the match on the identical day that Maresca’s departure was introduced.
“We came upon at lunchtime yesterday [Thursday],” mentioned McFarlane on when he was instructed he can be in cost in opposition to Metropolis.
“So we had the entire of yesterday to get our heads round how they’ve been enjoying and what their video games have seemed like and fortunate that they performed final evening [versus Sunderland] as properly so we received to look at that recreation.
“We’ve had an opportunity to take a look and get some concepts collectively.”
Looking forward to Sunday. pic.twitter.com/GN3mK7WbgO
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 2, 2026
McFarlane took coaching with the primary group on Friday, however insisted that they had been solely centered on coaching fairly than questions on who can be their new boss.
“All my communication and relationship with the gamers has been round what coaching goes to seem like right this moment, what the subsequent couple of days may seem like, what Sunday may seem like,” added the U21 coach.
“So by way of the larger image, I’m most likely not the person who they might be asking these questions.”
And when requested if he knew about any issues between Maresca and the board, he responded: “No. We’re in a distinct constructing on the opposite aspect so my job is simply to educate the U21s gamers to one of the best of our means and assist them get their alternatives within the first group.”
