Tuchel and McKenna included – Five Chelsea managerial candidates to replace Pochettino

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Search underway 

The news broke on Tuesday evening that Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino had parted ways after just 11 months. It’s understood that there were irreconcilable differences between Pochettinho and the Chelsea hierarchy over strategy after talks over the last few days.

Pochettino had, impressively, brought a sense of stability to one of the most chaotic clubs in Europe as Chelsea enjoyed a strong end to the season to secure European football after a dismal start. Over the final 15 league games, Chelsea boasted the third best record in the league – behind Arsenal and Manchester City – after losing just once and several star players have already expressed their bewilderment over Pochettino’s departure. The search for a new head coach is already underway with Chelsea targeting a younger coach with modern methods and we’ve analysed five potential candidates to replace Pochettino. 

Kieran McKenna 

McKenna will be in high demand this summer after his incredible achievements at Ipswich Town in his first managerial role. The Northern Irishman became only the fourth manager in history to achieve consecutive promotions from League One to the Premier League. The 38-year-old fits the mould of a younger manager with a progressive style of play and he’s achieved unbelievable success on a modest budget. McKenna has strong coaching pedigree from spells at Tottenham and Manchester United and it seems inevitable that he will depart Ipswich in the near future. It’s understood that McKenna is Brighton’s preferred candidate to replace Roberto De Zerbi and he addressed speculation over his future after winning the LMA Manager of the Year award on Monday night. “We’ve had an incredible two years and when you have those two years then there’s always going to be speculation,” he said. “There’s always going to be speculation because what we’ve achieved isn’t an ordinary thing but that’s not where my focus is.”

Roberto De Zerbi

De Zerbi’s departure from Brighton came as a slight shock when it was announced before their final game of the season against Manchester United. The Italian forged his reputation as one of the best young coaches in the world as he secured European qualification for the first time in Brighton’s history. It’s understood that De Zerbi and Brighton’s ownerships had differences over their recruitment policy and his exit was announced as a mutual agreement. De Zerbi has admirers across Europe due to his impressive tactical acumen and attacking style of play. The 44-year-old fits the profile that Chelsea are looking for and he’s amongst the favourites to replace Pochettino with several fellow former Brighton colleagues already at the club.

Michel

Chelsea supporters won’t be as familiar with Michel as much as other candidates but the Spaniard is a highly-regarded coach. His achievements with Girona are remarkable after securing them promotion to La Liga before securing Champions League qualification last season. Girona are owned by the City group and he’s been touted as a potential replacement for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Michel is comfortable working within a structure with considerable input from the board and he’s widely tipped to leave Girona this summer.

Rúben Amorim

Amorim’s reputation has diminished slightly after his poor handling of interest from Liverpool and West Ham. The 39-year-old was initially viewed as the favourite to replace Jurgen Klopp at Anfield but a deal couldn’t be agreed and West Ham’s public pursuit led to Amorim issuing a public apology. The Portuguese coach, however, is still held in high regard after his achievements at Sporting CP and he will be on the radar of top clubs. Amorim led Sporting to their first league title in 19 years in 2021 and he reclaimed their title this season.

Thomas Tuchel

It’s unlikely that Tuchel will return to Chelsea due to his tumultuous exit and he’s renowned for falling out with ownership. But it’s been reported that Tuchel would love the opportunity to return to Stamford Bridge and he’s still adorned by the Chelsea support after winning their second Champions League title. Tuchel’s tenure at Bayern Munich ultimately ended in disappointment as their dominance in the Bundesliga was ended by Bayer Leverkusen but he still remains a top coach.