Chelsea are big admirers of Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi and he has been considered as a potential replacement for Mauricio Pochettino.

The Blues won 2-0 against London rivals Tottenham on Thursday but that has done nothing to ease the pressure on the Argentine coach.

As exclusively revealed by TEAMtalk several players and board members at Chelsea view Pochettino as a “dead man walking” at Stamford Bridge.

The Chelsea hierarchy have drawn up a shortlist of manager targets and TEAMtalk understands that De Zerbi, Hansi Flick and Ruben Amorim are their three top targets.

However, De Zerbi seems to have shut down the links with the Blues by declaring that he wishes to remain with Brighton for the foreseeable future.

“I would like to stay at Brighton because I love my players, the city, my club and my fans,” he told Sky Sports.

“I already told the fans in a meeting that if I’m happy, I’m not gonna change this club — I want to keep my passion.”

Chelsea turns their attention to Hansi Flick, Ruben Amorim

Chelsea aren’t the only club to have been linked with De Zerbi, with Manchester United, Liverpool and Real Madrid also among his long-term admirers, per reports.

The Italian manager has done a fine job at Brighton, guiding them to a sixth-place finish and European qualification last season.

The Seagulls haven’t replicated that this season but losing some key players such as Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister has undoubtedly played into that.

With De Zerbi looking set to stay at the Amex, Chelsea will now have to focus on alternative options and the links with former Bayern Munich and Germany boss Flick are gathering pace.

The well-regarded coach is viewed as a ‘serious contender’ to replace Pochettino according to reports from Germany.

Flick held talks with Chelsea representatives shortly after Frank Lampard was sacked by the Blues in January 2021.

It’s thought that some club chiefs are still big fans of Flick and believe he could be the perfect man to take them forward. The 59-year-old coach guided Bayern to a historic treble-winning season in 2019/20 and has plenty of experience at the highest level.

Flick would be open to joining a Premier League side so it will be interesting to see if Chelsea do make a concrete approach for him should Pochettino be sacked in the coming weeks.

Ruben Amorim remains on their shortlist too, though, and TEAMtalk sources say he would be open to a conversation with the London club.

Amorim was heavily linked with a move to Liverpool and has since held talks with West Ham, but as things stand hasn’t reached an agreement with any team.