Max Allegri is the best available for Chelsea but not the best for the club

Massimiliano “Max” Allegri is the best available manager Chelsea could get. But he would not be the best manager for Chelsea now.

When Maurizio Sarri inevitably goes, most signs seem to point towards Frank Lampard becoming the next Chelsea manager. Other names have been mentioned as well but Lampard’s often leads the pack.

But one other name has been catching a lot of attention: Massimiliano Allegri. It would be incredibly unlikely to see him take over Chelsea during a transfer ban but there is no better manager available currently. Despite ridiculous arguments going around attempting to degrade his achievements or pretend he is a downgrade from Sarri, Allegri would be the safest and most talented option among all the names linked.

But though he may be the best available name, that is not the same as saying he is the best for Chelsea. There is a lot going in his favor but there is also a lot that should turn Chelsea away. He would be the safe, yet uninspired option that could get the job done but would not move the needle in the way Chelsea would want.

Though it is unlikely that Allegri would come with a ban on, it would not cause him many issues. Allegri comes from the same squad management school as Carlo Ancelotti where formation does not take precedence over getting the best players on the field. Allegri is perhaps rivaled only by Mauricio Pochettino when it comes to adapting his formation to put the best players on the field. In addition, he adapts the tactical setup to suit those players too.

That is why Allegri was often able to take the broken players from other teams for free and turn them into world beaters. He lost several key players from Antonio Conte’s tenure along the way, but he was able to keep Juventus flying high all the same. No matter who is in the Chelsea squad next season, Allegri would be able to turn them into something forceful by playing to their strengths.

After a season where Sarri rigidly stuck to a 4-3-3 and adapted his tactics as little as possible, Allegri would be a breath of fresh air. But other areas the club cares about would lag behind and that is why he would not be the best fit for Chelsea.

First of all, Chelsea still desires to use the academy players. With the ban, that becomes less of a wish and more of a demand. Allegri’s track record with bringing youth through is not fantastic by any means. Because he can get the best out of almost any player, the chances are high that he would lean on the older players. That simply would not do.

And despite all of Allegri’s tactical flexibility, like Jose Mourinho he often leans heavier on the defensive phase and letting the offensive players do their own thing. Part of that, at least at Juventus, has been down to his preference for midfielders who are great on the ball but who are not great defensively. To cope, Allegri had his forwards counter press as the midfield and defense retreated. This made Juventus passive off the ball. That plus a slower, more methodical buildup would likely rub fans the wrong way.

The passiveness of Juventus off the ball has faded over time with the additions of Emre Can and Blaise Matuidi but it never went away. Allegri also fell into the trap of playing too much towards Cristiano Ronaldo’s strengths as opposed to the team as a whole. No Eden Hazard would make that less of an issue at Chelsea, but it implies a weak spot for world class players at the cost of the totality of the team.

Overall, Allegri would do just fine at Chelsea if not fantastically. But he would not help to create a pipeline for the youth and his style of play may fail to impress the fans or the board. If the board is adamant about having a Chelsea team that plays front foot football like Manchester City or Liverpool, then Allegri would be an odd choice. He is about results over aesthetic, like Chelsea has been historically, but if the board is tired of that then Allegri is not the man. He may be the best available option, but he does not fit the path that Chelsea supposedly wants to be on.