Chelsea powerbrokers have deemed a sixth-place finish in the Premier League insufficient for manager Mauricio Pochettino to continue at the club.
The hunt for a new permanent boss is on, with Fulham’s Marco Silva emerging as the latest candidate to take the Argentine’s position in the dugout over the summer.
According to Maisfutebol, the 46-year-old is among the most realistic options to fill the vacancy alongside Roberto De Zerbi, who terminated his contract with Brighton & Hove Albion by mutual consent.
Chelsea announced Pochettino’s imminent departure on Tuesday after the club’s sporting directors and the ex-Tottenham Hotspur manager couldn’t find common ground.
His exit means the Blues have fired three permanent managers under Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly’s ownership, with Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter previously encountering the same fate.
But a club of Chelsea’s stature cannot afford to wander from one tactician to another every 12 months, and finding a sustainable solution in the coming weeks is crucial for their long-term project.
Silva, armed with a wealth of experience in the Premier League, ranks high on the shortlist, even though his Fulham side finished 13th in 2023/24 after a season-long struggle in the lower reaches.
Before being named the Cottagers head coach in 2021, he was in charge of Hull City, Watford and Everton since first landing on the English shores in January 2017.
However, none of his previous stints in the Premier League had a happy ending.
Silva resigned from his post at Hull after suffering relegation in 2016/17 and switched to Watford, only to be dismissed by the board in January 2018 for secretly negotiating a move to Everton behind their backs.
He would’ve wished he never had a conversation with the Toffees, as his unimpressive spell at Goodison Park ended abruptly in December 2019 when the Merseyside outfit showed him the door.
The Portuguese has another year left to run on his contract at Craven Cottage, and Chelsea would have to pay their cross-London rivals a compensation fee, as they did with Potter in 2022.
