Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali is drawn to Roberto De Zerbi’s personality whilst the club’s sporting hierarchy are said to prefer Enzo Maresca according to reports.
The Blues are currently looking for a new manager after they announced Mauricio Pochettino’s departure on Tuesday evening, following just one season in charge at Stamford Bridge.
Whilst the decision was not totally unexpected it still came as a surprise to both players and fans given the strong end to the season, which saw the Blues secure a top six finish and a return to European football.
Eghbali drawn to De Zerbi’s personality
Chelsea had narrowed things down to a four man shortlist of Kieran Mckenna, Enzo Maresca, Thomas Frank and a fourth unnamed candidate.
Reports on Sunday subsequently revealed former Brighton manager De Zerbi as the fourth candidate for the job.
Ipswich boss McKenna, who is a man in demand following back to back promotions from League One to the Premier League was the early favourite, but has now been ruled out.
It appears now that Maresca and De Zerbi are the two favourites for the job, and both have support from within the club’s hierarchy.
The Independent report Chelsea’s football hierarchy are said to prefer Leicester’s Maresca, who has worked with Joe Shields, Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia, but Eghbali is said to have been drawn to De Zerbi’s personality.
The report adds that De Zerbi is viewed as a “more prickly and abrasive character” with Chelsea sure to know a lot about the 44-year-old given they have a number of former Brighton staff at the club.
The Independent state Chelsea have huge admiration for the job he did at Brighton and are said to be impressed with how he appears to “represent an evolution in how the game is actually played.”
It would appear to be a slight concern that Egbahli is seemingly having a say in footballing decisions given he has limited to no knowledge of the game.
After all he put this sporting structure in place to make those decisions, and reports have stated the sporting directors have the full trust and backing of the ownership, so he should trust their judgement.
It’s believed a new manager will be appointed by the end of this week, but this is Chelsea and you can’t help but feel there could be one more twist left.
