Roberto de Zerbi, the Brighton manager, is highly regarded by Chelsea and is being considered as a possible successor to Mauricio Pochettino.
Even though the Blues defeated Tottenham, a rival team in London, 2-0 on Thursday, the Argentine coach is still under pressure.
Several Chelsea players and board members see Pochettino as a “dead man walking” at Stamford Bridge, as TEAMtalk exclusively revealed.
The three managers at the top of the Chelsea hierarchy’s shortlist, according to TEAMtalk, are De Zerbi, Hansi Flick, and Ruben Amorim.
De Zerbi, though, appears to have severed ties with the Blues by announcing his intention to stay in Brighton for the foreseeable future.
He told Sky Sports, “I love my players, the city, my club, and my fans, so I would like to stay at Brighton.”
“I want to maintain my passion for this club, and if it makes me happy, I won’t change it,” the fan stated in a meeting.
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Chelsea focuses on Ruben Amorim and Hansi Flick.
De Zerbi has long-standing admirers in Manchester United, Liverpool, and Real Madrid, so Chelsea isn’t the only team linked to him, according to reports.
Brighton finished sixth last season and qualified for Europe under the direction of the Italian manager, who has done a great job leading the team.
This season, the Seagulls haven’t been able to duplicate that, but losing some important players like Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister has probably contributed to that.
Chelsea will now need to concentrate on other options as De Zerbi appears likely to remain at the Amex; meanwhile, ties with former Bayern Munich and Germany manager Flick are intensifying.
German reports claim that the highly regarded coach is considered a “serious contender” to succeed Pochettino.
Shortly after Chelsea fired Frank Lampard in January 2021, Flick met with club representatives.
There are rumors that some club executives still think highly of Flick and think he would be the ideal candidate to lead them. The 59-year-old head coach has a ton of top-tier coaching experience and led Bayern to a historic treble-winning season in 2019/20.
Should Pochettino be fired in the upcoming weeks, Flick would be open to joining a Premier League team, so it will be interesting to see if Chelsea makes a serious move for him.
However, TEAMtalk sources claim that Ruben Amorim is still on their shortlist and would be amenable to speaking with the London club.
Amorim had talks with West Ham after being strongly linked to a transfer to Liverpool, but as of right now, he hasn’t come to an agreement with any team.
