Chelsea are looking for a new manager.

The Blues and Mauricio Pochettino have parted ways, and now the hunt for a replacement is on.

So, who will Chelsea target now? Well, a number of potential options have been touted, and, inevitably, there’s been some chat around Roberto De Zerbi heading to Stamford Bridge.

The Italian left Brighton last week, and the ‘incredible’ manager is said to be keen to find another job within the Premier League.

Speaking on The Athletic FC Podcast, Simon Johnson has been discussing Chelsea’s next steps in their managerial hunt, and he says that De Zerbi is an option for Chelsea, but he’s only on the outskirts of the Blues’ plans.

Roberto De Zerbi an outsider for the Chelsea job

Johnson shared what he knows about Chelsea’s managerial hunt.

“So it ranges from Brentford’s Thomas Frank, you have Kieran McKenna of course whose work at Ipswich is highly admired in the game. It’s not been totally ruled out that De Zerbi might be in the frame, but he’s very much on the outskirts as things stand,” Johnson said.

De Zerbi’s stock has fallen

This time 12 months ago, De Zerbi would’ve been a frontrunner for this kind of opportunity, but now, it really does feel as though his stock has fallen in recent months.

Brighton’s form as of late has been utterly dreadful, the Seagulls have fallen off a cliff since the turn of the year, and that may be swaying Chelsea’s view of De Zerbi.

Make no mistake about it, the Italian is a fantastic coach who has proven his worth at Premier League level, but there are more question marks around him now than there were just a few months ago.

By the sounds of it, De Zerbi isn’t likely to get the Chelsea job, but he’s one to keep half an eye on.