6 months ago
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Chelsea have added Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi to their list of target after parting ways with Mauricio Pochettino this week.
The Argentine coach left the Blues after an underwhelming campaign at Stamford Bridge, despite finishing the term with five straight wins. This helped the West London club secure European football for next season but it was ultimately not enough for the Premier League giants’ hierarchy.
Pochettino reportedly left Chelsea on very amicable terms as he felt leaving was the right decision following discussions with senior club officials this week.
This has left the London club looking for another manager as the current ownership struggles to provide the Premier League outfit with any consistency. There are a lot of problems at Chelsea and that may turn off many managers in the market.
It seems the Blues are targeting young coaches such as Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna and Leicester’s Enzo Maresca are joined by Brentford’s Thomas Frank on Chelsea’s managerial shortlist.
However, The Standard now reports Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi has been added to their list of targets as the Italian will not be coaching the Seagulls next season.
Roberto De Zerbi is a target for Chelsea
Roberto De Zerbi added to Chelsea’s list of manager targets
De Zerbi is now one of the main contenders for the vacant Chelsea manager’s job, states The Standard, and it is a name that will excite fans at Stamford Bridge.
The Italian has done brilliant work at Brighton since arriving in 2022, although the current campaign was a bit of a struggle, having won only 12 games in the Premier League on the way to a bottom-half finish.
Even though the 44-year-old is departing the Amex, Chelsea would still have to pay Brighton compensation should they wish to appoint De Zerbi, which is understood to be a fee of £5m. The report says that this does not put off the West London outfit, who are willing to make the move for the Italian if they deem him the right man for the job.
Chelsea are unlikely to wait very long before appointing a new coach and it will be interesting to see if it is De Zerbi as there are plenty of candidates in the race.
