Why Chelsea may have already decided Pochettino's replacement

James Shearman

• Updated: 15 Feb 2024 21:28 GMT
• 3 min read

Chelsea's latest move suggests they have already decided Mauricio Pochettino's replacement.

The Blues have made an offer to sign Brighton's head of recruitment, Sam Jewell, according to The Telegraph.

The Seagulls brought Jewell in to replace Paul Winstanley, who also made the switch to Chelsea, in 2022.

Now, this latest development could lead to current Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi becoming Chelsea's next head coach.

Jewell has had success working with the Italian over the past two seasons, with the club currently enjoying their first ever European campaign.

Although, the pursuit of the 34-year-old, who would take up a global scouting role at Stamford Bridge, is not the only sign that the west London club are eyeing up De Zerbi.

All roads lead to De Zerbi

As mentioned, Brighton's previous head of recruitment, Paul Winstanley, also left for Chelsea.

Well, he was the man that hired De Zerbi, who had previously coached Shakhtar Donetsk and Sassuolo.

And, it is not just backroom staff that could entice the 44-year-old into joining the Blues.

Moises Caicedo and Levi Colwill were two his most important players in the 2022-23 season, in which they finished sixth, on 62 points.

In fact, he loved Colwill so much that he was willing to make him his marquee signing last summer, if Chelsea would agree to the defender's sale.

Last of all, arguably Chelsea's most underwhelming transfer, Mykhailo Mudryk, was previously tipped to become a top player by De Zerbi.

The pair worked together at Shakhtar Donetsk, where the Ukrainian thrived, and he would surely relish the opportunity to do so again.