De Zerbi is leading race to become next Chelsea boss
FORMER Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi is a leading candidate for the vacant Chelsea job.
Mail Sport revealed yesterday the 44-year-old Italian is the fourth member of the shortlist. De Zerbi is in the running alongside Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna, Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca, who have both led their sides to promotion to the Premier League, and Brentford’s Thomas Frank.
The decision over who will be Mauricio Pochettino’s successor will be made in the coming days.
One club insider described De Zerbi as the ‘favourite’ as he is considered to tick the boxes that Chelsea are looking for, though nothing has yet been decided. Chelsea finalised their shortlist with a focus on finding a dynamic, forward-thinking and progressive coach who fits in with the club’s ideology. They are also keen on the chosen candidate having experience in English football at a high level. De Zerbi spent the last two seasons managing anaging Brighton in the Premier League, guiding them into Europe for the first time with a brand of possessionbased - football. Despite having ving a contract until 2026, De Zerbi rbi left Brighton by mutual consent at the end of the season after he and owner-chairman Tony Bloom agreed they had different ‘ideas and visions’ for the future of the club. If Chelsea succeeded in snapping up De Zerbi, they will still have to pay compensation to Brighton, currently said to be worth around £5million.
The south-coast club made sure to include that as insurance in their amicable split in case another club swooped this summer. Xavi is not being considered by Chelsea after leaving Barcelona, while Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness and Girona’s Michel have dropped out of the running and Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim not on the shortlist. Chelsea supporters reacted positively to the news that De Zerbi is among the four candidates. In one poll conducted on social media after Mail Sport’s report, he received a heavy backing g of 72.8 per p cent from the 26,000 2 votes lodged. l Maresca Mare followed foll on 13.4 13 per cent, c McKenna on 8.9 per cent and Frank F on five fi per cent. ce De Zerbi bid farewell fare to Brighton Bright on the season’s final day as speculation surrounded him and a move to Bayern Munich, who are set to snatch Vincent Kompany from Burnley instead. A switch to Chelsea would see De Zerbi reunited with Levi Colwill and Moises Caicedo as well as Mykhailo Mudryk from his time at Shakhtar Donetsk. Co-sporting director Paul Winstanley also briefly worked with De Zerbi at Brighton. The Italian has his fiery side though and how he would work at Chelsea could be interesting. He wanted more say in transfer dealings while at Brighton — but at Chelsea recruitment is not solely down to the manager.