Former Chelsea star Florent Malouda has offered a slightly bizarre reason for the Blues to stick with Mauricio Pochettino despite his current struggles at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have just been beaten in the Carabao Cup final, while Pochettino has also been unable to lift the team out of mid-table mediocrity, with the Blues currently 11th in the Premier League table.
This is a long way from what Chelsea fans are used to, and Malouda’s main concern with sacking Pochettino is that there isn’t anyone else available apart from Jose Mourinho.
Malouda exclusively told Ladbrokes Fanzone that he believes in stability, and the lack of anyone else currently being available also seems to be an issue for him.
He said: “I am not worried about Pochettino. I am worried about Chelsea. In terms of managers, when you look at the options available apart from Mourinho, there is nobody obvious for the job that could make a big difference.
“I believe in stability, and I believe the club should support the manager and include him more in the process of picking players in the club strategy. I definitely think we need to stick with Pochettino. Instead, we need to bring people on board now who can back him up and help him develop his ideas.”
However, Malouda’s comments don’t make much sense when you consider that it’s highly likely we’ll see other big names available in just a few months’ time.
Even if Pochettino gets until the end of the season, we’re likely to see plenty of managers moving this summer, with it recently being announced that Chelsea’s former Champions League-winning manager Thomas Tuchel is going to be leaving Bayern Munich at the end of this campaign, to cite just one example.
Amorim to replace Pochettino at Chelsea?
Meanwhile, Ruben Amorim, one of the most highly regarded young coaches in the game, also looks like someone who’s expected to be on the move this summer, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Amorim has been linked with replacing Pochettino at Stamford Bridge, and although Romano has played down those links for now, he says it’s true that the Portuguese tactician has admirers in England and that he’s open to a change.
“It’s a possibility for him (Amorim) to leave Sporting Lisbon in the summer, yes. It’s not guaranteed yet but he’d be open to considering top clubs as he’s already done an excellent job at Sporting in the recent years.
“At the moment he’s not in direct contact with any club, but he’s appreciated in England for sure.”