Next Chelsea manager: The contenders to replace Mauricio Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino is the third permanent manager to leave Chelsea under the Clearlake Capital-Todd Boehly ownership, as attention turns to who could replace him in the hotseat.
Chelsea are expected to go for a younger and, in their view, more progressive coach when it comes to choosing a successor.
Here, we look at who is in contention...
Sebastian Hoeness (Stuttgart)
The German coach, 42, cut his teeth in the Bayern Munich II feeder team, winning the 3.Liga title. He finished 11th and ninth in his two seasons at Hoffenheim, then saved Stuttgart from relegation in 2022/23 before a stunning turnaround saw him lead them to a second-placed finish this season, above Bayern Munich. Hoeness has a deal until 2027.
Michel (Girona)
Girona boss Michel was involved in a fight for La Liga with Real Madrid this season. He has caught the eye since taking charge of the club in 2021 and qualified for the Champions League following a breakthrough campaign. The 48-year-old is well known at Manchester City as his club have the same Abu Dhabi owners due to being part of the City Football Group. His style is a possession-based game but their counter-attacking has also caused trouble for opponents.
Enzo Maresca (Leicester)
Another with Manchester City links, Maresca was among Pep Guardiola’s assistant managers who eventually went his own way to become a No 1. It started with a spell at Parma in Italy before heading back to the Etihad. Then, last summer, the 44-year-old agreed a deal with Leicester City and took them back to the Premier League at the first attempt.
Kieran McKenna (Ipswich)
McKenna led Ipswich to back-to-back promotions, taking them from League One to the Premier League in two-and-a-half years at Portman Road. He started in the coaching staff at Tottenham before making a name for himself at Manchester United, where he worked with the first team under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He is data-driven and has one of the fittest teams around.
Thomas Frank (Brentford)
Frank is admired at Manchester United after the work he has done at Brentford since 2018, taking them into the Premier League and making them a stable outfit in the top flight. The 50-year-old Dane recently spoke about his future and said: “Ambition is many things – you never know what will happen. Maybe I’ll stay here for the rest of my time in football. Am I going to another club in the future? Maybe. You never know. What I know is I’m very happy here.”
