Chelsea know what they must do with Enzo Maresca or risk losing him to Man City

Enzo Maresca's future at Stamford Bridge has come under the spotlight in recent days with the Chelsea head coach being linked with the Manchester City job should Pep Guardiola leave

As far as tumultuous weeks go, this is right up there for Chelsea. Even by their standards.

Enzo Maresca shocked everyone - including those he was going at - last weekend when he came out post-Everton and bemoaned the lack of support shown to him and his Blues players in the 48 hours leading up to the win at Stamford Bridge. Then, less than 48 hours later, the Chelsea boss refused to clarify his comments - leaving everyone in the dark about exactly what he meant.

Then, on Thursday, after Chelsea's win in Cardiff where the away supporters chanted the head coach's name at full-time, reports regarding Manchester City's interest in Maresca came out. City are planning ahead just in case Pep Guardiola ends his decade-long tenure at the Etihad Stadium in the summer.

Maresca, inevitably, did not want to get into his future too much during his pre-Newcastle United press conference on Friday morning, but did guarantee he would be at Chelsea next season. The Italian is contracted until 2029, with the option to extend it by a further 12 months if necessary, and he remains part of the club's plans.

A review will take place at the end of the season as senior figures from the club, such as the two sporting directors and co-owner Behdad Eghbali, will sit down to talk about how the first two years under Maresca have gone. While Maresca's performance will be reviewed, this will also be an opportunity for the head coach to speak about the club's structure and model and suggest any improvements, or changes, he believes are needed.

It is clear Maresca is not entirely happy with some elements within how things are operating right now. And it might also explain these sudden links to Man City. Maresca recently changed agency, with the Italian now represented by the highly influential Jorge Mendes. It could well be a play from Maresca's agency to try and almost force Chelsea's hand.

The Blues know they have a talented head coach on their hands and upgrading on him would be very difficult, especially with the manager market in its current condition. From Chelsea's point of view, now is the time to back Maresca - as they are doing - until the very end. While he is a head coach - not a manager, crucially - there needs to be trust in Maresca. He has earned that at the very least.

Though, equally, Maresca cannot make what he did at the weekend a habit. As a one-off, it can be brushed under the carpet and forgotten, but the higher-ups at Chelsea will not accept such instances on a regular basis.

The next weeks, you feel, will be telling for Maresca and his future. He is not under any immediate pressure in terms of keeping his job, but how he handles the media will be scrutinised. Whenever Chelsea's next defeat is, how Maresca conducts himself post-match will be intriguing. And unfortunately for Maresca, questions over his future will not go away anytime soon given his outburst a week ago.

The majority of Chelsea supporters are desperate to keep Maresca at the club, it seems, and there is nothing to suggest that will not be the case. Though it is clear some things need to change for all parties to be happy.