Chelsea legend Frank Lampard appeared stunned by Mauricio Pochettino’s untimely exit from Stamford Bridge, according to Robbie Fowler.
The Blues sprang a shock earlier this week by announcing that ex-Tottenham boss Pochettino would be leaving Stamford Bridge by mutual consent after only one year in charge despite overseeing an impressive improvement in form during the second half of the season, which saw the Blues shake off their familiar struggles to finish sixth in the Premier League table as well as reaching the Carabao Cup final and FA Cup semi-finals.
The Argentine’s future was decided during an end-of-season review with co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali plus co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley.
It came as a shock to supporters, most of whom had expected Pochettino to stay on after eventually guiding Chelsea back into Europe following a five-match winning run to end an eventful campaign.
The news also appeared to come as a surprise to club legends too, with Liverpool icon Fowler revealing Lampard’s reaction as both former Premier League stars attended a League Managers’ Association (LMA) event when news of Pochettino’s departure first emerged.
“I was sat next to Blues' legend Frank Lampard at the League Managers’ Association awards dinner on Tuesday night – and when the news broke that Poch had been sacked a look of utter disbelief spread across his face,” Fowler wrote in a column for the Daily Mirror.
“Frank wasn’t the only one in the room who was shocked.”
Chelsea are now ramping up their bid to swiftly appoint a successor to Pochettino, with ex-Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi now emerging as a main contender for the role.
Standard Sport understands the Italian is on a four-man shortlist for the vacant Stamford Bridge position that also includes Kieran McKenna, architect of back-to-back promotions with Ipswich, Leicester’s Championship title-winning coach Enzo Maresca and long-serving Brentford manager Thomas Frank.
De Zerbi is understood to be keen on the role and making a swift return to management after leaving the Amex Stadium following the end of the season, with Brighton still due compensation of around £5million if Chelsea did decide that he was the ideal next candidate.
Chelsea may yet have to battle the likes of Manchester United and Brighton for the in-demand McKenna, with Pochettino also linked with Old Trafford if Erik ten Hag is sacked despite winning the FA Cup with victory over Manchester City at Wembley this weekend.
Lampard himself, meanwhile, is being mentioned in connection with a possible return to management at relegated Burnley, who are about to lose the highly-rated Vincent Kompany to Bayern Munich.
