Former Chelsea player Cesc Fabregas has questioned the sacking of Graham Potter but has spoken positively about Mauricio Pochettino's chances of success at Stamford Bridge.
What's the latest on Todd Boehly and Chelsea?
It's been a funny old season for the Blues as they started the campaign with Thomas Tuchel, sacked him, fired his replacement, and then brought in Frank Lampard.
All the while, the club's American owner Todd Boehly spend hundreds of millions of pounds on new transfers – reportedly £556m – only for the club to finish 12th in the Premier League.
All in all, it's been a rather chaotic past few months and now it will be up to Pochettino to work his magic over the summer and help steady the ship before next season begins.
In an interview with The Athletic, however, Fabregas – who played 198 times for Chelsea – has claimed that Potter deserved more time at Stamford Bridge.
While talking about Mikel Arteta who is now succeeding at Arsenal after some uncertain early periods in his management, the Como midfielder explained: “This is what we were talking about in terms of giving time to coaches.
"At any other club, or maybe at another time, maybe we would not have Arteta as a coach right now, because you can remember what happened the first year. Even though he did well the first six months, winning the FA Cup, they then finished eighth three times in a row.
"If it’s not for Edu [Gaspar] and giving him more time — he has the right personality to keep Mikel there, to say, ‘OK, stay, do your thing, we back you.’ That’s what it’s all about. Down the line, you’re tomando los frutos. It will bear fruit."
Specifically on Chelsea, he added: “I understand that the top, top teams nowadays panic very quickly. Like Chelsea, you are eighth and you make a change and now you are 14th. A panic change does not always guarantee you that you’ll get better. Sometimes it does, sometimes not.
"But if you really believe — I believed in Potter. I know the results weren’t great but if you believe in him the way you say you believed in him… they had given him a five-year contract. Maybe give him some time. It’s proven with other coaches that it worked.”
What did Fabregas say about Pochettino?
Of course, though, Potter's time with Chelsea is up and he left the club in April having won only seven of his 22 Premier League games in charge.
And so, with interim Lampard now gone, Pochettino will have to try and find a way to deal with the bloated squad and Boehly's demands as the Blues begin a new chapter.
Fabregas was at least optimistic about the Argentine's chances of success in West London, noting his ability to get the best out of younger players.
The 36-year-old Spaniard said: “I’ve never worked with him, I’ve obviously heard of him. I’ve met him a couple of times on holiday in Ibiza. I’ve played against him obviously when he was at Spurs and we’ve chatted after matches.
"I think he seems like a very reasonable man, very calm, that gives a lot of confidence to younger players and has a good structure and has a staff that he trusts so much. I hope he’s the right man to bring back Chelsea to the position where they belong.”
