Chelsea has been linked to five managers to replace the outgoing Maurizio Sarri. The choices hint at a shift in tone from where the club has been.
Over a year ago, when Chelsea was considering Antonio Conte’s fate, the Blues supposedly planned on the next manager being “young and dynamic“. They ended up with Maurizio Sarri who was not young and proved far less dynamic at Chelsea than at Napoli (depending on what exactly dynamic meant).
There has been no clear brand of managerial target this time around. But the five managers Chelsea is considering (Frank Lampard, Steve Holland, Nuno Espirito Santo, Javi Gracia, and Max Allegri) does hint at a new brand for the Blues, though not perfectly.
The “young” part would still apply. Of those five, Allegri is the old man at 51 and Lampard is the baby at 40. Young is often associated with modern and having fresh ideas and it seems the Blues are still looking for someone of that ilk.
Young also implies longevity. Chelsea has done a poor job of showing it in recent seasons, but there is a desire to have a longer term manager. The younger a manger is, the longer they could potentially stay going forward.
Dynamic is again down to how it is defined. Does it mean attacking and fluid? Does it mean flexible? It does it simply mean a manager that could excite the fan base?
The latter is likely what Chelsea desires most right now. Sarri hardly ignited passions and was the first manager since Rafa Benitez to truly have the Bridge turn on him. Chelsea wants a manager to be adored and most of those targets can offer that.
Wolverhampton fans would go to war for Santo. Derby fans want Lampard to lead them back to the Premier League and Chelsea fans would love to see a legend become Chelsea manager. Holland is still highly respected at Chelsea and would get a big homecoming. Allegri and Gracia are stretches but Allegri is incredibly passionate like Jose Mourinho and Gracia is adored by Watford fans despite being pretty even keeled.
But perhaps more noticeable is the shift towards Premier League experience once the obvious big name on the market is discounted. Gracia has been Watford’s most successful manager in years despite coming out of nowhere. Santo followed up stints at Valencia and Porto by taking Wolves out of the Championship and all the way into the Europa League in two seasons. Lampard and Holland have no managerial experience in the Premier League but they have plenty of experience in general with the Premier League.
Most top six clubs ignore managers from within the English system when looking for their next coach. Only Tottenham have looked at the teams below them in recent seasons when they hired Mauricio Pochettino. Chelsea seems to be considering that same type of experience if they are looking at managers like Santo and Gracia (and to a lesser extent, Holland and Lampard).
The ban makes everything tricky but the shortlist is a solid one all things considered. The two with Chelsea connections are the most likely to say yes, but the other three cannot be discounted outright. Chelsea is forging a new path forward no matter who takes the hot seat and there appears to have been a shift in which way that path will go from here.