Who next for Chelsea after Mauricio Pochettino leaves club? | OneFootball

After Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003, the club lacked stability in terms of management, yet consistent on-field success came despite this constant changing of the guard, as the club won six Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues as well as many other trophies.

Now that ownership has changed to the Clearlake Consortium, headed by Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly, and those days of trophy after trophy seem a distant memory. The club need stability now more than ever. Mauricio Pochettino’s departure on Tuesday evening means the club will have a fifth manager in just two years by the time the new season started.

Pochettino became the latest victim of Chelsea’s chaotic ownership, with Champions League-winning manager Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, and a short spell in charge for club legend Frank Lampard all deemed inadequate under the American’s ruling.

Questions will be asked regarding Pochettino’s relationship with the fans. Was there ever a strong bond, given the Argentine had previously managed arch-rivals Tottenham? Did Pochettino do enough to decrease the hatred that once was there?

The signs Pochettino would leave Chelsea were there for all to see for many months

Not all the Stamford Bridge faithful took to Pochettino, that is for certain, but there will be fans disappointed to see the 52-year-old leave. A late surge in form saw the Blues lose just three times in their final 19 games in all competitions, finishing strongly in the league with five straight wins securing sixth place, having lingered in mid-table for most of the season.

A case can be made that this was largely down to summer signing Cole Palmer’s outstanding campaign, netting 27 times since his switch from Manchester City, but there were evident changes in Pochettino’s system later in the season, contrasting to the opening months of his tenure.

Chelsea boast a seriously expensively assembled squad, but it’s a squad with an average age just shy of 25, the second-youngest team in the league, and on the up under a man who worked wonders at Tottenham with a similarly youthful side.

You could argue that Pochettino has taken over two roles where managers are fighting a losing battle from day one, first at Paris Saint-Germain and then at Chelsea. But he is not a bad coach – far from it. English football fans know that better than anyone with the wonders he worked in North London, and it would not be surprising should he be a man in demand instantly with Bayern Munich, Barcelona and potentially Manchester United all possibly in need of a new man on the touchline.

Roberto de Zerbi, who left Brighton last week, is the bookmakers’ favourite to replace Pochettino. Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna and Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca, two men who spearheaded their sides to Premier League promotion this season are reported to be on sporting directors’ Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley’s shortlist, with Girona’s Michel and Sebastian Hoeness also liked by the duo.

The ideal replacement at Stamford Bridge seems to be a young, project manager, capable of working with the current crop of players, but are any of them an upgrade on Pochettino?