Marco Silva is among the favourites to take the Chelsea job this summer after Liam Rosenior was sacked. Silva is out of contract at the end of June.
Fulham manager Marco Silva is among the bookies’ favourites to take the Chelsea job this summer.
Silva, under contract at Craven Cottage until the end of June, has been digging his heels on signing a new contract, despite Fulham presenting him one in October.
Now, following the sacking of Liam Rosenior after his six-year contract was ended after just 104 days, Chelsea are once again in the market for a new manager.
The Blues are in Titanic bad form, losing their last five matches without scoring a goal, something they have not done since 1912 when the ‘unsinkable’ ship was indeed sunk.
With the club in freefall, they have opted not to secure themselves another new permanent manager this season, with Callum MacFarlane taking over as interim manager for the second time this term.
The Chelsea hierarchy are desperate to make the right appointment this time, with whoever they do opt for set to be the 10th manager, permanent or temporary, since the BlueCo takeover in 2022.
Among the very frontrunners to take the Chelsea job are a pair of former players, Brazilian Filipe Luis, who won both the Premier League and League Cup in his sole season at Stamford Bridge and Cesc Fabregas, a player who won five major trophies with the Blues.
They come in as 5/2 and 4/1 favourites respectively and there is a growing sense that appointing someone who truly knows the club and what it means to represent Chelsea football club might be the answer.
But neither Filipe Luis or Fabregas have any managerial experience in the Premier League.
The former left-back rose to prominence in a managerial sense with native side Flamengo, winning the Brazilian Serie A title and the Copa Libertadores.
Fabregas, meanwhile, has hugely impressed in Italy, taking Como, who were in Serie B just two seasons ago, to the brink of Champions League football.
Should Chelsea opt for a manager who is tried and tested in the Premier League, the obvious choice would surely be Oliver Glasner, who will be available at the end of June when his contract with Crystal Palace expires.
Marco Silva is out of contract with Fulham in June and has yet to sign a new deal. Image Credit: ReutersHis preferred formation, though, a 3-4-2-1, hardly fits Chelsea’s current squad, although playing a three at the back formation has worked well at Stamford Bridge in the past.
The other managers with Premier League experience who may be available are Andoni Iraola, who will leave Bournemouth and Silva.
The Portuguese feels he has earned his stripes to be managing in Europe, having taking Fulham back to the Premier League and stabilised them as a mid-table side in his five years at the club.
Chelsea would mean he would not need move house and although their hopes of being in Europe are sinking following their shocking form, it would undoubtedly interest Silva.
Betfair place the Portuguese at 9/1 odds, behind Filipe Luis at 5/2, Fabregas at 4/1, Glasner at 9/2, Xavi at 6/1 and Roberto De Zerbi at 15/2.