Chelsea adds new PL manager to managerial shortlist as Mauricio Pochettino’s future hangs in the balance

Chelsea has a new Premier League manager target amid Mauricio Pochettino’s uncertain future at the club

If Chelsea decide to fire Mauricio Pochettino amid the disastrous season, Simon Phillips (h/t Caught Offside) claims they have a number of options in mind. Eddie Howe is one of the fresh names under consideration, as various sources have lately verified.

Howe was making an impression at Newcastle, but the team’s performance declined dramatically this season, and if the Magpies believe they can get a better boss this summer, there’s a chance Howe will leave.

Throughout this rough season that Newcastle is going through, there still have been moments when Howe and his squad have dominated their opponent. For example, this weekend, when they thrashed Tottenham 4-0 at St. James’ Park.

Newcastle was doing comparatively worse in their football journey before Eddie’s arrival. Now the club is sixth in the Premier League standings, six points ahead of Chelsea, who are ninth.

After a terrible run in the winter when they only won two of ten games and lost the other eight, they have since won three of their past four games and are undefeated in that span. They have also won five of their last eight games overall.

Would Eddie be useful for Chelsea?

Large clubs appear to be talking to Howe again, as Chelsea is prepared to look at him as a possible Pochettino alternative. Nevertheless, it’s unclear if Chelsea supporters will all concur that he’s the best option.

Howe is not a popular foreign manager who will turn Chelsea into something completely different by bringing in some unusual and special kind of play. This rumour will, thus, leave a lot of fans cold.

However, he exemplifies the precise type of decision we saw this owner making. They want a head coach who will work with what they have and not cause any issues, not an authoritarian.

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So whatever Chelsea fans might think, we have no doubts that if Pochettino goes and Howe moves on from Newcastle, he will be on Chelsea’s list without a doubt. Overall, Howe has done a great job at Newcastle, but if he led Chelsea on a run similar to what the Magpies did earlier in the season—shock losses to teams like Nottingham Forest and Luton—he would not be able to survive.