A manager Cesc Fabregas called “unbelievable” is now keen to take over from Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea.

It has been a tough week for Chelsea fans, as the Stamford Bridge faithful watched the Argentine depart on Tuesday evening – despite ending the 2023/24 campaign with five straight Premier League wins.

There was then further misery on Saturday when Manchester United won the FA Cup – taking Chelsea’s UEFA Europa League spot as a result.

Now – however – a very talented coach is keen to replace Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea…

Roberto De Zerbi wants to impress Chelsea

A story by the Evening Standard now claims that Roberto De Zerbi is keen to fill the vacancy at Stamford Bridge.

The Italian is available for hire after leaving Brighton, although he will still cost a compensation fee of £5m – however, it is said that those in the boardroom at Chelsea are not put off by that figure.

De Zerbi – aged 44 – is keen for a swift return to management, and hopes to show Chelsea that he has what it takes to replace Pochettino.

Kieran McKenna of Ipswich, Thomas Frank of Brentford and Enzo Maresca of Leicester are the other names on Chelsea’s current shortlist.

As aforesaid, Chelsea hiring De Zerbi would seemingly go down well with Fabregas, who told the Planet Premier League Podcast: “I am a big fan of De Zerbi. I’ve been studying him for the past three years, and he’s grown so much as a coach.

“The first time I saw him was when we played at Monaco against Shakhtar in the qualifier for the Champions League, and I said, wow, I need to follow this guy, he’s grown and grown, and what he’s done at Brighton is unbelievable.”

Two players would surely thrive under the Italian

If De Zerbi – who has 161 wins in football management – is appointed, we believe Moises Caicedo and Levi Colwill would be delighted.

The pair shone under the man from Brescia during their time together at Brighton.

De Zerbi – who said he spoke to Caicedo like a “father” would – helped develop the Ecuador international into a £115m footballer at the Amex Stadium, while Colwill’s efforts on loan under the Italian earned him a new contract at Chelsea, running until 2029.

Therefore, you would expect both to be very effective operators in the same system at Chelsea, if De Zerbi is hired.