Who are the five managers who can replace Potter at Chelsea?

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 11 Feb 2023 10:10 CST
• 4 min read

Graham Potter was given £300m his first full transfer window.

Throwing money at the problem isn’t everything in football - players need time to settle and the philosophy installed.

But as we approach the middle of February, serious questions are being asked of the former Brighton boss.

Chelsea, whose huge expenditure in the winter window made up 37% of the league's total spend, remains in the ninth spot in the Premier League table following their 1-1 draw with West Ham.

It means that they have managed just one win in all competitions since the turn of the year.

Sounds are that Potter has his club’s full backing - but that will start to fade away if the results continue to wane.

If worse comes to worst for the Englishman, here’s a look at five managers who could possibly take over as his replacement at Stamford Bridge.

Luciano Spalletti

Luciano Spalletti is set to earn his first-ever Serie A title if Napoli continue their dominance. The Italian is something of a veteran of the dugout, having begun his career with Empoli in 1994. Since then, he has managed the likes of Sampdoria, Venezia, Udinese, Ancona, Roma, Zenit Saint Petersburg, and Inter Milan.

But it’s been this season where his ability as a coach has really started to shine, with Napoli 13 points clear at the top of the table.

Ruben Amorim

Ruben Amorim started his career in charge of Braga's reserves. Afterwhich, he replaced Ricardo Sa Pinto at the helm of the first team. And after just two weeks there, he was signed by Sporting Lisbon to become their manager in March 2020. The season after, he led the side to their first league title in 19 years. As well as the Primira Lige accolade, the Portuguese has two Taca da Ligas under this belt.

Roberto De Zerbi

Roberto De Zerbi was brought in as Potter’s replacement at the Amex in September, so it would be a sweet piece of irony if he was then plucked up by the Blues to be their new coach.

Before the Seagulls, the 43-year-old was at Shakhtar Donetsk, where he won the Ukrainian Super Cup in 2021.

This term, the Italian is showing precisely why Brighton wanted him. It took until 29 October for him to earn his first win, but it came against Potter, thrashing Chelsea 4–1.

Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Zidane was earmarked to take over Didier Deschamps as the France national manager.

But Deschamps agreed to remain in the role for the next three-and-a-half years after he led the nation to the World Cup final in Qatar, losing to eventual winners Argentina on penalties.

Zidane last managed a side in 2019, when he left Real Madrid after a successful three-year spell with the Spanish giants.

During this period, Zidane won the La Liga title twice, and the Champions League an incredible three times. The Frenchman won the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup on two occasions.

Lionel Scaloni

Lionel Scaloni earned his first major job with Argentina after impressing as the coach of their under-20s setup.

He led Argentina to the 2021 Copa América title after defeating Brazil, before turning around their group stage loss to Saudi Arabia and winning the World Cup with Argentina in November.

As of the time of writing, Scaloni is yet to sign an extension with Argentina, though the country’s federation are trying to keep ahold of him.