Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has said he would be concerned if the Blues were to hire Roberto De Zerbi as a possible replacement for Mauricio Pochettino.
The pressure has increased massively on the Argentine following the extra time defeat to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup with some reports suggesting that Chelsea have already started looking at possible replacements for the 51 year old.
Pochettino signed a two year deal with the option for a third last summer but has really struggled this season with the Blues currently languishing down in 11th place in the Premier League and in danger of missing out on European football for the second consecutive season.
The plan has always been to assess Pochettino’s future at the end of the season but with results not being good enough that could be brought forward and rumours persist about potential replacements with De Zerbi’s name mentioned.
However, Merson has concerns if De Zerbi were to be appointed and told Sky Sports: “There’s always talk about the manager at Chelsea.”
“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.”
Pochettino is heading into a run fixtures that will have a huge impact on his long term Chelsea future starting with tonight’s FA Cup tie against Leeds.
