Opinion: Pochettino out? Five managers who would be an immediate upgrade for Chelsea



There’s no escaping it – Chelsea are *bad* right now. While losing 4-1 to this Liverpool side is perhaps forgivable, the nature of the defeat, with the Blues totally outclassed by the league leaders, will have been a concern. Shipping four goals again a few days later at home to Wolves may be the final straw for Mauricio Pochettino.

Let’s face it, this Chelsea ownership doesn’t seem to know what it’s doing; Graham Potter was also a poor choice, not least because sacking Thomas Tuchel was a pretty baffling choice in the first place. Just because Pochettino arrived with a bit more experience under his belt, where are the signs that Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali got it right this time?

While Pochettino did superb work at Tottenham, we perhaps forget too easily that things ended pretty badly for him there, while his spell at Paris Saint-Germain was also really poor. The modern game moves fast and it may already be that the Argentine is a spent force at the very highest level, with this admittedly challenging Chelsea project clearly now looking beyond him.

So, who could Chelsea turn to to replace Pochettino? There are some promising options out there, and we’ve picked five who would surely do a better job at Stamford Bridge right now…

Xabi Alonso

Xabi Alonso would be ideal as next Chelsea manager

Known to be a candidate for the Liverpool job once Jurgen Klopp steps down at the end of the season, Chelsea might do well to move quickly to try to hire Xabi Alonso ahead of their rivals now. The Spanish tactician has done an incredible job at Bayer Leverkusen this season, with his team still unbeaten, leading the Bundesliga, and playing an attractive brand of football despite having limited resources compared to so many of the best teams in Europe.

In all honesty, we’re pretty sure Alonso would choose the more stable option of Liverpool right now than try to turn this nightmare at Chelsea around, but that doesn’t mean the Blues shouldn’t try to put themselves in the running for someone who is clearly one of the brightest managerial prospects in the game.

Roberto De Zerbi

After such strong work at Brighton, Roberto De Zerbi is sure to be another name linked with numerous big jobs this summer. We know Liverpool and Barcelona will have vacancies, so that’s probably a concern for Brighton, but should Chelsea consider entering the running too?

Well, some CFC supporters might be a bit concerned about raiding the Seagulls again as Potter proved such a poor appointment, while signings such as Moises Caicedo and Marc Cucurella haven’t done too well making the step up from one club to the other either. Still, De Zerbi has to be in the conversation if Pochettino does end up getting the sack.



Unai Emery

This would have seemed unimaginable a year ago, but Unai Emery now looks like he’d be a great choice to guide Chelsea through this crisis. The Spanish tactician inherited a struggling Aston Villa side and has completely transformed them into genuine top four contenders.

Of course, we all saw Emery struggle in his time at Arsenal when they were going through a similar rebuilding process, but he seems to have improved a lot since that first spell in English football, with his Villa side playing a far more expansive style of football that would undoubtedly also prove a hit with the Stamford Bridge crowd.

Ruben Amorim

Ruben Amorim could be a decent option for the Chelsea job

Along with Alonso, Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim is a huge talent when it comes to up-and-coming coaches in the game. We’ve already heard his name being linked with several big jobs and he’s sure to be someone Chelsea look at if they decide not to stick with Pochettino any longer.

Arne Slot

Finally, Arne Slot is surely a name worth looking at. Tottenham had the Feyenoord manager on their list of targets in the summer before failing to lure him away from the team he guided to the Eredivisie title last season. Slot would undoubtedly be an intriguing option for Chelsea and might be the ideal candidate to work with this squad of talented young players who seem to be losing their way under Poch.