Outspoken pundit and former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton has made another audacious claim. He believes that Chelsea should not appoint Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager in the summer – instead, he believes they should hand the role to Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi instead [via The Monday Night Club on BBC Sounds].

Not only this, he also claims that Chelsea would have a ‘chance of winning the Premier League’ if they choose to appoint De Zerbi as their new head coach.

On the show, the ex-Blackburn Rovers and Celtic hitman said: “I know Pochettino’s going in at Chelsea, but if De Zerbi got offered the Chelsea job we would all say that Chelsea have a chance of winning the Premier League, wouldn’t we?”

Roberto De Zerbi career summary

De Zerbi’s footballing career as a player began at AC Milan – however, during his stay there, he failed to make a first-team appearance for the Italian giants.

Perhaps the best stint of his playing career came while he was at Foggia – he scored 17 goals in 56 games from midfield for the Rossoneri.

As a manager, De Zerbi has primarily managed teams in his native Italy, including Palermo, Benevento and Sassuolo. After a successful period at Shakhtar Donetsk, he was signed by Brighton in 2022.

Would Roberto De Zerbi be a better option than Mauricio Pochettino?

Roberto De Zerbi has, without a shadow of a doubt, performed excellently at Brighton so far this season. Many onlookers believed that the Seagulls would experience a slum after the departure of former head coach Graham Potter – they could not have been more wrong.

Nevertheless, De Zerbi would likely be a riskier option than Pochettino. We all know what happened the last time Chelsea appointed a head coach from Brighton – additionally, Blues fans will most likely be expecting a big name, rather than taking a gamble.