Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is currently under enormous pressure. The Blues look set to miss out on Champions League football for a second consecutive season and were also recently dumped out of the FA Cup at their own home ground by a resurgent Manchester United.
If the Blues carry on playing the way that they are, the Italian may be sacked sooner rather than later. The following are some candidates who could potentially replace him.
1. Frank Lampard
It has become increasingly popular for clubs to appoint club legends as their bosses. Take for instance, Real Madrid’s appointment of Zinedine Zidane and AC Milan’s appointment Gennaro Gattuso. Lampard has managed Derby impressively this season and the Rams could potentially win promotion to the Premier League via the Championship promotion playoffs. One thing which could work against Lampard though is his lack of experience. He has only been managing since the start of this season.
2. Nuno Espirito Santo
After leading Wolves to the Championship title and Premier League promotion last season, many would have been thinking that the Molineux club would be aiming to avoid relegation from the top flight this season as do most promoted clubs. However, Wolves have proven to be a good Premier League side. They are set to gain a strong finish on the top half of the standings this season which is quite impressive for a side that only won promotion to the top-flight last term.
3. Jose Mourinho
Mourinho is currently unemployed after having been sacked by Manchester United in December. His two previous managerial stints at Stamford Bridge may not have ended on good terms, however there is a good case to be made for him being considered as a possible successor to Sarri.
The self-proclaimed ‘special one’ has vast experience managing in the Premier League and Europe and is already a proven manager, having won the Premier League previously as well as the Champions League while managing Porto and Inter Milan.
4. Gianfranco Zola
If Sarri is sacked soon, there is a good chance that Zola could be appointed as manager of the club until a permanent candidate is found. Zola is a club legend in the eyes of many Chelsea fans. Should he get the job on an interim basis and impress (in a similar way to how Ole Gunnar Solksjaer is currently doing at Manchester United), he could potentially be considered for the job on a permanent basis.
