Chelsea already reportedly have two preferred names they’re looking at to replace Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that Mauricio Pochettino has left his position as Chelsea’s head coach by mutual consent.
The Blues gave Pochettino a two-year deal when he arrived at the club last summer. However, he’s walked away after just one season, where he did manage sixth in the Premier League to secure the return of European football.
All attention will be on Chelsea to see where they go next with Pochettino’s successor.
The Telegraph has reported that Chelsea are likely to consider the managerial quartet of Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness, Girona’s Michel, Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna and Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca.
However, it’s been claimed elsewhere that the Blues are firmly thinking about two other coaches.
Chelsea have two favourite managers on shortlist
Maisfutebol claims that Chelsea consider Roberto De Zerbi and Marco Silva as the preferred managers they’d like working at Stamford Bridge next season.
It is understood that both are the highest rated coaches by those behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge.
For De Zerbi, it was announced in the last week that he’s leaving Brighton this summer. It’s not been shared where his next job will be, though.
As for Silva, he’s still the Fulham manager and he’s just guided them to a 13th-placed finish in the Premier League.
So, will De Zerbi or Silva end up as Pochettino’s successor?
Roberto De Zerbi and Marco Silva the frontrunners
There’s a lot of former Brighton employees now working at Chelsea, so perhaps De Zerbi’s name cropping up isn’t the biggest of surprises.
Journalist Sami Mokbel claimed via a Q&A earlier in May that Chelsea do admire De Zerbi and the way he plays football.
It’s worth adding that he’s previously coached Chelsea players such as Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill, Moises Caicedo and Robert Sanchez in the past.
Meanwhile, Fulham’s Silva would be arriving with much more of a blank canvas if Chelsea go down that road.
Here below is the records of Silva and De Zerbi in their respective Premier League careers so far as managers: