Former Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit believes Brighton and Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi should be the only candidate if Mauricio Pochettino is sacked.
Despite millions being spent, the jury remains out on Pochettino at Stamford Bridge after a lacklustre season. The Blues looked like they could have turned a corner last Thursday thanks to Cole Palmer’s late show against Manchester United but Oli McBurnie’s stoppage time equaliser ensured lowly Sheffield United shared the spoils with Chelsea at Bramall Lane on Sunday.
Hopes of qualifying for European football this season are not over yet but they do look slim at best with United, West Ham and Newcastle all better placed. Should they miss out on the Europa League or Europa Conference League, Todd Boehly could opt to part ways with the ex-PSG head coach.
The American owner has not been known for his patience during his brief tenure at Chelsea. But while Boehly may be considering a change, Petit has told Genting Casino that the Blues should give Pochettino some more time.
“I hear critics about Mauricio Pochettino every week, do the fans want him sacked? It’s exhausting for the fans, players and staff to keep changing the manager,” the Frenchman explained.
“Restarting under a new coach again and again and again is tiring. Give time to Pochettino, Chelsea need to stop signing and selling players.
“There is no stability or serenity at Chelsea, the fans don’t know if their owner, Todd Boehly, is staying or leaving. Chelsea have bought a lot of young, talented players and they have no leaders.
Give them time. Look at Arsenal, the first two years they struggled and the board gave Mikel Arteta confidence, look at them now. Chelsea need to stop spending money.”
This being said, Petit believes that De Zerbi should be the man to take on the task if Boehly decides Pochettino’s time is up. “If it comes to it, the only manager I can see replacing Pochettino is Roberto De Zerbi,” he concluded.
“De Zerbi lost half of his Brighton team and still played consistently with his ideologies and got his teams to play good football. If Chelsea are changing their players all the time, he can instil a mentality in the club to play a certain way.
