There’s been speculation in the media this week suggesting that Chelsea are thinking of Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi as a potential managerial appointment at Stamford Bridge.
However, Paul Merson has suggested he would be concerned about the Blues hiring Roberto De Zerbi.
First of all, it’s important to state Mauricio Pochettino is still in his role as the Blues head coach.
His side did suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of Liverpool on Sunday in the League Cup final, which is a huge opportunity missed to win a trophy.
Journalist Simon Phillips reports via Substack that Chelsea’s owners haven’t pulled the plug to sack Pochettino yet because there’s still a chance of qualifying for Europe.
It’s not stopped rumours regarding Chelsea interest in De Zerbi, though.
Journalist Nicolo Schira claimed via X yesterday that Chelsea are monitoring Brighton manager De Zerbi as a potential option for them next season.
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Sky Sports pundit Merson has pointed out that the Chelsea job would be a massive step up for someone like De Zerbi.
“There’s always talk about the manager at Chelsea,” Merson told Sky Sports.
“We always say get rid of managers, but if Pochettino were to go, who would come in? That’s the problem.
“Who’s about? Who would you take?
“Chelsea is a huge football club. People will talk about Roberto De Zerbi and he has done brilliantly at Brighton.
“However, there is a huge difference between Brighton and Chelsea. Brighton drew at home to Everton at the weekend and nothing is said. Meanwhile, Chelsea are 11th in the league and have been beaten by top-of-the-league Liverpool in a cup final and it’s headline news. Chelsea weren’t even favourites for the game, but it is a shock they haven’t won.
“That’s the difference when you are managing a massive club. The scrutiny is on a different level.”
Chelsea monitoring Roberto De Zerbi
Surely not another Brighton raid from Chelsea?
De Zerbi, 44, has certainly done an outstanding job recently with his resources at the Amex Stadium. Is he now ready to emulate his style of football and scale up on a much bigger platform, though?
We rate the Italian coach for his work at Brighton, but we won’t think too far ahead while Pochettino is still working and trying to turn the tide at Chelsea.
