Chelsea double transfer chance that changes everything for Enzo Maresca with Julian Alvarez deal

"When you want to play from the back, you have to take risks and it doesn’t matter, we keep it going." If Enzo Maresca makes one thing clear, it's that his teams won't stop with the short passing from defence.

He is more willing to accept a mistake from a goalkeeper leading to shots and his side conceding than he is seeing them go direct. "What cannot happen is that he starts to play long balls," the new Chelsea manager said of Mads Hermaneson at Leicester last season. "Otherwise we are going to play the second keeper."

His confidence in the principles are unwavering: “This is the way we want to play. It can happen. It happened today. It happened at Blackburn. But I don’t remember more goals. We scored many goals because of the way we start with Mads.

“I said many times, he’s a human being and can make a mistake. [Patson] Daka can make a mistake missing a goal. Jamie [Vardy] can make a mistake. All the players. But unfortunately, when you make a mistake as a keeper, you concede a goal. I have no problem at all."

For Chelsea, this is something quite new. Mauricio Pochettino struggled to get the best out of Roberto Sanchez before injury forced Djordje Petrovic to step up. Although Sanchez arrived with the background of being a more accomplished short passer he made more high-profile mistakes than perhaps even Maresca would tolerate.

Petrovic, in his first season in England, is less comfortable with the ball at his feet but still performed well despite his metrics not standing out. It leaves the Blues with a question to answer over how they move forward in goal this summer. Like most things these days, the answer could be at Manchester City.

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It has been reported that the current champions are wary of interest in goalkeeper Ederson. The Brazilian has had great success once more at the Etihad Stadium, but alongside some of his teammates is being linked with an exit.

Saudi Arabian clubs are said to be keen on pushing a move for him. At 30 he is realistically only just entering his best years, but his contract is up in 2026. This leaves City with 12 months to ponder whether or not to offer him a new long-term deal.

If there is any suggestion that he isn't going to remain in Manchester then surely Chelsea and Maresca will be all over it. Why Ederson would be willing to swap serial winners and Pep Guardiola for recent underachievers and Maresca is certainly questionable, but given the links to City it cannot entirely be written off.

Ederson would be a dream signing for Chelsea. He is experienced and capable at the back, possessing the short game to be in defence as an extra outfield player but also an eye for a parabola capable of assisting his forwards when necessary.

Despite being a key player for City, Ederson is not the only man linked with an exit. Kevin De Bruyne is yet to commit himself to the cause while even Guardiola himself faces uncertainty. Not even those who are in the infancy of their City careers are definitely staying.

Julian Alvarez, for example, is being pursued. The 24-year-old only signed in the summer of 2022 but has already made over 100 appearances for City. He grabs less headlines than Erling Haaland but still managed 11 league goal and nine assists in 36 games.

Perhaps surprisingly he also started 31 of those, more than double the amount he managed in his first season in England. Able to drop deeper and play as one of the No.10s in Guardiola's 3-2-5 in-possession shape, he is more adaptable than Haaland but still fills in upfront when needed as well.

Being second fiddle to the main man is something that reports in Spain say Atletico Madrid are trying to take advantage of though. They are listed as one of the clubs keen to try and probe a deal this summer whilst Paris Saint-Germain have also been linked.

In Argentina it is rumoured that an unnamed Premier League club are readying an offer. It feels unlikely to be Chelsea at this stage but perhaps it really should be.

Alvarez not only looks like a stylistic fit for a Maresca striker - capable of dropping deep to pick up the ball but also quick enough to stretch a defence with his runs through the middle - but he has already worked with him. Maresca was a key member of the Guardiola coaching staff at City during their treble-winning season, Alvarez's first at the club.

It may well be unrealistic pair of transfers to get over the line, and would do nothing to help the 'Manchester City of the south' narrative that grows with each passing Chelsea appointment or transfer, but it would be an improvement on the current options.