Former Arsenal forward Paul Merson believes Brendan Rodgers is the best candidate to be the next manager of Chelsea following Graham Potter’s sacking on Sunday.
Potter was relieved of his duties after the Blues lost 2-0 at home to Aston Villa on Saturday and moved down to 11th on the table.
Rodgers was also sacked a few hours before Potter on Sunday, after Leicester City lost 2-1 at Crystal Palace on Saturday and dropped down to 19th place on the table.
Despite how things ended at the King Power Stadium for Rodgers, Merson believes the Northern Irishman is still a good fit for Chelsea due to his preferred style of play and also his previous connections with the club where he was manager of the academy and reserve team.
“I’m a big Brendan Rodgers fan. Unfortunately, things have gone horribly wrong at Leicester. In football, it all comes down to timing, and let’s be honest, if Leicester were where Brighton are now, everyone would be calling for Rodgers to go to Chelsea,” Merson said on Sky Sports.
“Rodgers ticks every box; he plays on the front foot, he started his coaching career at Chelsea and knows the club. But the timing of the Chelsea job coming up this time hasn’t worked in his favour, with him getting the sack at Leicester four hours before Potter was relieved of his duties.
“Chelsea fans will question why they should turn to a manager who has just been sacked by Leicester, but if you look at the all-round picture, Rodgers is a good manager who has worked at top clubs like Liverpool and Celtic, won trophies at Leicester and put them on the brink of Champions League qualification. I just think Rodgers is the one.”
Rodgers was previously in charge at Watford, Reading, Swansea City, Liverpool and Celtic. He won two Scottish Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups and three Scottish League Cups with the Bhoys.
At Leicester, he led the Foxes to FA Cup triumph in 2021, defeating Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley before a late Kelechi Ihenacho penalty handed them the Community Shield over Manchester City by the same scoreline.
