Newcastle manager Eddie Howe leads a six-man strong shortlist of candidates to replace Mauricio Pochettino as Chelsea head coach, according to journalist Simon Phillips.

Writing in his Substack, Phillips said that the Blues have already identified potential options if they do choose to dispense with the services of Pochettino at the end of the season:

“Other names that have been mentioned by a collection of my top sources as being on the candidate list are Roberto De Zerbi, Thomas Frank, Ruben Amorim, Xabi Alonso, Arne Slot, and obviously Howe as above.”

Of course, one of those six names has effectively been ruled out as a candidate already. Alonso has confirmed that he will be staying at Bayer Leverkusen for another year.

The 3 Premier League managers on the list

The fact that Howe is so highly regarded by Chelsea may surprise some supporters. His Newcastle side have struggled to build on their 4th-place finish last season, currently sitting 6th. However, the 46-year-old does have a good reputation for developing young players and that could be why the Blues are considering him as a candidate.

De Zerbi has had a tougher second season at Brighton and that may raise questions about his suitability for a project such as the one at Stamford Bridge. Frank, meanwhile, certainly has the man-management skills but there are question marks about his style of play.

Amorim and Slot have also been considered by Chelsea

If the Blues look further afield for Pochettino’s replacement, then Ruben Amorim and Arne Slot would both be strong contenders. Amorim is on the verge of winning his second league title with Sporting Lisbon, but he has been heavily linked with replacing Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.

Slot, meanwhile, won Feyenoord’s first Eredivisie title in six years last season, and his team are currently sitting 2nd this campaign.