Southampton did 'approach' 43-year-old manager amid Martin doubts at St Mary's

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·29 September 2023

Southampton did 'approach' 43-year-old manager amid Martin doubts at St Mary's

Highlights

Enzo Maresca turned down the Southampton manager's role because he believed that Leicester had stronger foundations and squad.
Southampton's poor start to the season puts manager Russell Martin in a vulnerable position, with the next few weeks crucial for his future.
If Southampton had convinced Maresca to join, their defeat to Leicester could have been avoided and they might have had a stronger start to the season.

Southampton offered Enzo Maresca the manager's role this summer, but the former Manchester City assistant refused the job because of one key reason revealed to GIVEMESPORT by Ben Jacobs.

Maresca was eventually appointed as Leicester City boss, with Southampton landing on Russell Martin instead.

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It's been quite the contrast in starts to the season for both Southampton and Leicester after getting relegated from the Premier League last time around. While Leicester are already pulling away from the chasing pack at the top of the Championship tree, Southampton are scratching around in mid-table and currently sit just a handful of points above the relegation zone.

Things had started positively for new boss Martin, who arrived at the south coast outfit from Swansea City over the summer, but fortunes have quickly turned and Southampton find themselves in a spot of trouble. Desperate for results, if things don't change quickly, Martin could find himself out of a job, making the next couple of weeks crucial for the 37-year-old manager.

One of the sides to have defeated Martins' Southampton already this season are in fact Leicester, who hammered Saints 4-1 at St. Mary's earlier this month. A humbling defeat and a look at what could've been for the 2017 League Cup runners-up, had they been successful in persuading Maresca to take charge during the summer.

Enzo Maresca was approached for the Southampton job - Ben Jacobs

When quizzed about the contrasting starts to the campaign for both Southampton and Leicester, journalist Jacobs admitted that Maresca might've been stood in the St. Mary's dugout, had things gone a little differently. Revealing the Italian was approached by Southampton, Jacobs told GIVEMESPORT the main reason why he didn't accept the job offer:

“I think he was sold on Leicester because their foundations and the strength of their squad going down were just stronger. So I don't think that Maresca ever seriously entertained, Southampton, but it's absolutely true that he was approached. “The appeal of Southampton would have been there's a few that have obviously moved or had at the time (from Manchester City), because Romeo Lavia has gone now to Chelsea and Gavin Bazunu is another one, though, that is still there who had come from Manchester City, that he would have known very well.”

How is Enzo Maresca regarded in the football world?

A player for West Bromwich Albion, Olympiacos and Sampdoria, Maresca had an intriguing but unremarkable career as a senior professional. However, it is with coaching where the 43-year-old has made his name, having worked as an assistant manager at both West Ham United and most recently Man City.

The Salerno-born man was part of the City coaching team which helped guide the club to a historic treble last season, with Pep Guardiola going on to describe Maresca as an 'incredible' person to work with following his appointment as the Leicester boss:

"I don't know what happens with my assistant managers, I take care of them incredibly well and all of the time they drop me!" “I want to say thank you a lot to Rodolfo Borrell for the incredible seven years together and Enzo for the last year. They were an incredible part of the success we had and I wish them, Rodolfo Borrell in MLS and Enzo with Leicester, the best. They deserve the best (via Leicestershire Live)."

Clearly adopting some of the Catalan's methods to his own style of play, Maresca has impressed ever since taking the reins at the King Power Stadium, with Southampton supporters no doubt looking over with an envious eye.

Was it a mistake to hire Russell Martin instead of Enzo Maresca?

Even if Southampton had done a better job at persuading Maresca to take the job, what's to say he would've enjoyed as strong a start with Saints as he has done at Leicester? It's unlikely Maresca would've been able to convince the likes of Lavia and James Ward-Prowse to stick around and fight it out in the Championship, given their aspirations to play higher up the pyramid.

Conversely, Leicester were able to keep hold of more of their Premier League-proven players, with Jamie Vardy, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Kelechi Iheanacho all remaining part of the Foxes squad until January at least. As such, it's given Leicester a stronger chance of earning promotion at the first time of asking, whereas at Southampton, more work needs to be done to get Saints to a place where they can challenge for an immediate return to the top flight.