Four options to step in if Chelsea actually sack Maurizio Sarri

It’s all starting to go wrong for Maurizio Sarri’s much-hyped tenure at Chelsea.

Sarri’s appointment at Stamford Bridge was greeted by much fanfare in the media over the summer. The enthusiasm wasn’t without good cause. The Italian coach arrived in west London after a splendid spell with Napoli, where he engineered an exciting style of play and the results to go with it.

The Blues started the season well enough with an unbeaten run lasting 12 games, but the wheels have gradually fallen off Sarri’s maiden Premier League campaign. Jorginho, Sarri’s star signing and protege whom he brought to London from Naples, is struggling for form, Chelsea’s defence continues to crack and they seem to be out of options and ideas up front.

While Chelsea have begun to falter, Manchester United have resurged under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and Sarri’s men are no longer in the top four as a result.

Under owner Roman Abramovich, Chelsea has never been a safe space for underperforming coaches and it is not beyond the realm of possibility that the Russian oligarch is preparing Sarri’s P45 as you read this.

If that’s the case, who could be the candidates to replace the Italian for the rest of the season or beyond?

Dream: Frank Lampard

The dream scenario for any Chelsea fan is that Frank Lampard comes in and is able to have a Roberto Di Matteo-esque impact. As far as the rest of the season goes, at least.

Chelsea’s all-time leading goalscorer doesn’t quite have the requisite experience to take over at Stamford Bridge, but Blues fans would undoubtedly welcome one of their favourite sons with open arms.

No player epitomises Chelsea in the 21st century more than Lampard and he would, no doubt, be a popular choice among the club’s adoring fans.

It wouldn’t necessarily be a wise appointment, though. Lampard is in the middle of his first season in management with Championship side Derby County and even though he has been fairly solid so far, he hasn’t set Pride Park alight and has a lot to learn.

Lampard addressed the rumours after Chelsea’s defeat to Man City and admitted that watching his club suffer such a heavy defeat is “not nice,” but played down any talk of him taking over from Sarri.

“With my Chelsea hat on, 13 years a player there obviously, you have a feeling for it and it is not easy,” the Derby manager told Sky Sports. “It is not nice, and it doesn’t happen to Chelsea much so when it does, it is a shock. But let us get it right.

“Bookmakers are not always right for starters!” he said when asked about the odds of him taking over at Chelsea. “I will never get excited about that. It is certainly a club I respect and a manager that I respect so it wouldn’t make me smile or anything different because my job is here.

“I am working very hard and my whole thoughts are with Ipswich Town away on Wednesday, and travelling down to Brighton in the FA Cup at the weekend.

“I obviously follow Chelsea, have huge respect for them, and I hope to see them put some form together and turn those results around.”

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Realistic: Gianfranco Zola

Not the ideal choice by a long shot, as the Italian’s record in management is pretty dismal. Spells with West Ham, Birmingham City, Watford and clubs in leagues around the world all ended without much to write home or, indeed here, about.

Zola was unlucky at West Ham. At the end of his tenure, Hammers Chairman, David Sullivan, announced that the entire squad was for sale except for midfielder Scott Parker. Zola was replaced by Avram Grant at the end of the 2009-10 campaign, then he went on to Watford, where he eventually resigned in December 2013.

When he stepped down, Watford were languishing in the bottom half of the league, had not won since October and had lost their last five home games. This unsuccessful pattern was repeated at all the other clubs he managed. At Birmingham, the latest club Zola managed, he resigned after only winning two matches in the 24 games he spent in charge.

This is far from the best CV, but with options thin on the ground, the Italian would be an adequate stop gap before a long-term – well Chelsea don’t really do long term – replacement is found.

Wildcard: Jose Mourinho

Mourinho is Chelsea’s most successful manager. He won the Premier League with the club in his first season in charge, the club’s first top-tier win in 50 years, a feat he’d repeat the following season.

Mourinho left the club after falling out with Abramovich but would return five years later after successful tenures in Italy and Spain. Mourinho won the league in his second season back with the club. Once again, though, disaster was looming and the following season ended in complete disaster after Chelsea lost nine out of 16 matches in the Premier League.

Considering how badly things ended at Old Trafford, it’s difficult to think of any top club that would be willing to bet the house on one of the most disruptive managers in football history. Having said that, as discussed, there’s a precedent for this working out in the past and a Mourinho injection could be just what Chelsea need to get back on top…

Nah, probably not. Still, imagine the needle if Mourinho secured Champions League qualification for Chelsea at Man United’s expense.

Squawka Suggests: Zinedine Zidane

Zidane pulled off a three-peat in the Champions League at the end of his managerial spell with Real Madrid, becoming the first coach to win the trophy in three consecutive years. Zidane resigned after that success and it appears the charismatic Frenchman has rode off into the sunset, laurels firmly rested on. When Mourinho was sacked by United’s board in December, Zidane was heavily tipped to be taking over the reins at Old Trafford until Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was given the job on a temporary basis instead.

Zidane certainly has the track record to restore success at Stamford Bridge, but some will point out that Zidane’s successes were made significantly easier by possessing some of the best players in world football. It’s relatively easy to maintain a highly functioning machine. It’s far more difficult to build that machine from scratch. Zidane wouldn’t necessarily have to design a new machine in west London, but the current one needs a lot of work. Putting tenuous mechanical metaphors aside for a moment, while Zidane is not known for his tactical prowess, he has a strong reputation for his man-management skills and bringing the best out of players.

Chelsea have some world-class talent in their squad, and getting the best out of them would make the Blues a frightening prospect indeed. Zidane has the charm, the charisma and winning mentality to make the Blues relevant again.

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