Chelsea’s season started well under Maurizio Sarri, but after their latest 6-0 hammering at the hands of Manchester City, it has been claimed that the club might replace the Italian with Zinedine Zidane.
The Blues started the season well and Sarri broke the record for the most number of games as a foreign manager without defeat.
Early on, it seemed that Chelsea might even challenge Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title, but with time, the problems have become more evident.
According to the Sun, Chelsea have already started talks on when to make an approach for Zidane who is currently on a break after leaving his post at Real Madrid last summer.
Why Zidane would be the perfect fit
Chelsea hired Sarri for a specific reason, and that was to play more proactive football. Titles under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte were won under a more pragmatic approach, which many argue wouldn’t have been possible with an extravagant approach.
Sarri’s Napoli managed to challenge Juventus, but they couldn’t dethrone the Old Lady. The brand of football, however, earned adulation from the fans and even the best of managers.
Considering Chelsea haven’t had such a manager for a while, the process will take time, though results like the one against Manchester City is something that can’t be justified as they had some really good players as well.
A lot will depend on how Chelsea bounce back in the Premier League and the EFL Cup final where they once again take on Manchester City. Sarri has been hailed as a tactically astute coach, and that’s not a false claim as his side have already beaten Manchester City and Liverpool this season.
If Chelsea meekly surrender to Manchester City once again in the EFL Cup final, and drop further behind in the race for the top four, Sarri might not even live to see the summer.
Though Sarriball at its peak is wonderful to watch, winning the league title with such a demanding style is always going to be difficult, something he found at Napoli. And with the competitive nature of the Premier League, the style has been exposed by some of the mid-table sides as well.
Zidane, on the other hand, is known to get the best out of the players, even though he had a brilliant squad at Real Madrid.
The Spanish side knew how to get the job done, and perhaps that is something that suits Chelsea more than anything else, considering how they have achieved all their success in the last few years.
Zidane knew how to use the best players, and even though he is likely to need more backing in the transfer window, he has the winning mentality and his methods have already delivered results, just like Mourinho and Conte.