Harry Winks believes one Chelsea target is BETTER than outgoing boss Mauricio Pochettino – as Leicester star reveals the best manager he’s worked under… as he also snubs a two-time Champions League winner
- Harry Winks has revealed the best football manager he has worked under
- The midfielder has had an excellent season and has helped his team achieve promotion
- Has Chelsea offered Manchester United a way out of Erik ten Hag’s darkness through the departure of Mauricio Pochettino? – Listen to the It all starts! Podcast
Harry Winks has apparently claimed that one of Chelsea’s top managers rates higher than their former boss Mauricio Pochettino, while also appearing to dismiss a two-time Champions League-winning coach.
Chelsea are currently looking for a new manager after the shock news emerged last week that Pochettino had mutually agreed to part ways with the club.
Despite a difficult start to the season, with the west London club plagued by injuries, the Argentine had weathered a storm of mounting pressure to earn a sixth-place finish in the Premier League while securing a place in the Europa League Conference League to be secured next season. .
Winks, 28, worked under Pochettino during the manager’s five-year spell at Tottenham and particularly praised the 52-year-old coach just before the Argentine was sacked by Spurs in 2019.
The Tottenham academy graduate, who joined Leicester on a permanent deal last summer, also worked under Jose Mourinho during the Portuguese manager’s two-year spell in north London.
Leicester City midfielder Harry Winks has revealed the best manager he has worked under
Winks appeared to dismiss former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino (pictured), saying another manager was ‘by far the best coach to play under’
Winks (left) played under Pochettino (right) for a number of seasons before the Argentine left Spurs in 2019
The midfielder particularly struggled for game time under Mourinho during the 2020/21 season, starting nine Premier League matches and making just 15 top-flight appearances.
After 21 years at the club, he was signed by Leicester and has become an integral part of Enzo Maresca’s championship-winning side. He played all but one league match this season and scored two goals.
On Monday, Mail Sport revealed that Maresca had emerged as Chelsea’s leading candidate to succeed Pochettino at Stamford Bridge after the Italian guided the Foxes back to the Premier League this season.
It is understood the Leicester boss is open to a move to the west London club despite his successful season with the Foxes. Chelsea, meanwhile, have also called Kieran McKenna to tell him they would be making no move to appoint the Ipswich boss as their new permanent manager.
Winks has now worked under the 44-year-old for a season and believes Maresca is a better manager than both Pochettino and Mourinho. He praises the Leicester boss for his man-management skills.
“He is by far the best manager I have worked for,” Winks told Sky Sports. ‘He’s incredible. Everyone will say that he is going straight to the top in terms of management status. He has everything. He is a great man manager.
“He is tactically incredible in some of the decisions he tells us to make before the game and the way he looks at the game is something I have never experienced before in football.”
‘So yes, he really opened my eyes to football and the way it is played, and also to the style of Pep Guardiola, who I know he also worked with for a while.
‘So I love my football, it works perfectly for me. It’s exactly the type of football I want to play and immerse myself in and I think I’ve learned so much since he arrived and I’ll continue to do so.”
Winks instead claimed that Enzo Maresca (pictured) was the best coach he has played for
The Leicester manager (left) has emerged as the best candidate to take over as Chelsea boss
Winks (left) also appears to have snubbed ex-Tottenham boss and two-time Champions League-winning manager Jose Mourinho (right)
The 28-year-old (pictured) praised Maresca for his tactical brilliance and man-management skills
He added that he has learned a lot under the new manager and has enjoyed his football
Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna was among those considered but has since dropped out of the race
Maresca also joined Leicester last summer after Brendan Rogers left the club following their relegation to the Championship.
The coach previously practiced his profession as assistant coach to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
Mail Sport reported last week that Chelsea had begun their search for a new manager and had begun holding several informal interviews with potential successors to Pochettino.