Enzo Maresca to bring formidable dietician to Chelsea who banned three key items

Enzo Maresca, the new man at the helm of Chelsea, is set to shake things up - even in the canteen.

The ex-Manchester City assistant, fresh from leading Leicester to Premier League promotion, has been snapped up by Chelsea. He's stepping into Mauricio Pochettino's shoes and the squad at Cobham training ground can expect some unusual alterations to their diet.

Maresca is bringing his Leicester team with him to London, including fitness coach Marcos Alvarez, known for his strict dietary rules.

Alvarez, who has previously worked with Sevilla, Parma and Tottenham, is renowned for his meticulous scrutiny of players' diets and banning certain foods that most wouldn't consider harmful.

During his stint in north London with Juande Ramos, Alvarez outlawed sauce, fruit juice, cake and even salt and pepper. Last season, as Leicester clinched the Championship title, he removed fried eggs from the breakfast menu.

These changes at Tottenham led to a rebellion among first-team players.

This resulted in some players resorting to asking security staff to smuggle McDonald's into the pre-season camp. Ledley King, then captain, was sent by his teammates to negotiate with the coaching staff to reinstate certain foods - but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

Alvarez, who was part of the team behind Tottenham's last silverware win, defended his dietary overhaul in an interview with Sky Sports: "The truth is, the first buffet I saw, I took photographs of it because it was very interesting. Lots of sauces, a lot of cakes, chocolate muffins, a box full of sweets. So we tried to put things right."

He continued, highlighting the fitness issues he encountered upon joining Spurs: "When we arrived, we realised that the team was carrying excess baggage.

"I made a very simple comparison with the Sevilla team that we had been working with and, taking into account the size of the players, the team was basically 100 kilos over. So I immediately talked to Tottenham and we set the wheels in motion to change things."

Meanwhile, Chelsea are in dire need of a shake-up to return to their trophy-winning ways. Despite the American owners' £1billion investment in new talent, the Blues have failed to secure any silverware for several seasons, finishing sixth under Mauricio Pochettino.