Almost every Chelsea fan will want to forget the 2023/24 campaign, with the club currently occupying ninth place, and unlikely to secure European football once again.

Mauricio Pochettino's side have come close to winning silverware this season, losing twice at Wembley, once against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final and once against Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final.

However, it seems like an impossible task to gel the squad together, given all the new signings brought in by owner Todd Boehly, but something needs to change, with Pochettino the person likely to make way.

The club are said to be looking at other options at the end of the campaign, with the club weighing up three options to replace Pochettino at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea monitoring three alternatives to Pochettino

According to a report from The Times last week, the Blues are targeting Brighton and Hove Albion boss Roberto De Zerbi and Hansi Flick as possible replacements for Pochettino should the club decide to part ways with the Argentinian this summer.

De Zerbi has made a huge impact with the Seagulls, implementing a possession-based style that saw the club qualify for the Europa League for the first time in the club's history last season.

Any deal for the Italian may be a complicated one, given the interest from other sides across Europe, but with De Zerbi being under contract at the AMEX, the club will demand a compensation fee.

The other two options for the Blues this summer are Flick and Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim.

Flick is currently without a club after his stint as German national team boss, following his time at Bayern Munich where he helped the club win the Champions League.

On the other hand, Amorim is a wanted man, with the club facing stiff competition to convince him to join the Blues, with the Portuguese boss holding talks with West Ham and attracting interest from Liverpool, before the deal for Arne Slot.

Despite the rumoured interest in the aforementioned duo, journalist Rudy Galetti has reported that Brighton boss De Zerbi is Chelsea's "preferred" option to replace Pochettino this summer - a move that the club should avoid at all costs.

Why De Zerbi could be Potter 2.0 at Chelsea

Whilst De Zerbi's 4-2-3-1 system would be similar to that of the Argentinian boss, it would be a huge backward step for the club, with the Italian failing to make any impact during his second season in charge of the Seagulls.

Since January, his side have only claimed three wins out of 15 games in the Premier League, a run of form that has seen the club drop to 12th place and out of contention for a second successive season of European football at the AMEX.

His high-risk football of building from the back was a hit last season, but many teams have seemed to nullify that threat with a high press, as demonstrated by Manchester City during the 4-0 rout last week.

He also plays the same way as former Brighton boss Graham Potter, who Chelsea poached back in 2022, paying £21.5m compensation for the boss to move to Stamford Bridge.

Potter, whom De Zerbi replaced on the south coast, only lasted 31 matches with the Blues, achieving a win rate of just 38% before his dismissal, with the move being a complete disaster for both parties.

Whilst Pochettino has failed to improve the Blues since his appointment, the club should avoid hiring De Zerbi this summer - with the Italian failing to provide an upgrade on the Argentinian with his possession-based style unlikely to change Chelsea's fortunes.

Boehly needs to take time to hire the right man should he decide to fire Pochettino, with the next potential manager needing to push the club in the right direction and edge the club closer to a return to European football and one day a Premier League title charge.

As Potter found out, success at Brighton doesn't always translate to success in the Stamford Bridge dugout.