Leeds United confirmed the appointment of Jesse Marsch on Monday, replacing Marcelo Bielsa at Elland Road, and the new head coach has been vocal when it comes to Chelsea in the past.
Bielsa was controversially sacked by the club on Sunday despite leading a remarkable revolution in west Yorkshire and leading them back into the Premier League.
A run of five defeats in their last six matches, however, has left them perilously close to dropping back out of the top-flight and the board have taken action.
However, three of those defeats have come against Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham and the decision has been criticised by some, especially with Patrick Bamford and Kalvin Phillips both long-term absentees.
The decision has been made and Marsch will now look to steer the Whites away from danger over the coming weeks.
The American coach is a student of Ralf Rangnick's and has been a long-term associate of Red Bull clubs of the world, managing in New York, Salzburg and Leipzig.
In 2020, he took a swipe at Chelsea and specifically Frank Lampard at how the club had utilised his compatriot Christian Pulisic since signing him from Borussia Dortmund.
"The perception in Europe, mostly, is that the American player is willing to run, willing to fight, has good mentality, but technically they're not very gifted and tactically they're not very aware and their experiences aren't very big," he told Extratime Radio just under two years ago.
"But we're seeing that change. We're seeing more and more of these players develop themselves.
"Even Frank Lampard, when I spoke to him in pre-season a year ago now, I was talking to him about having Christian Pulisic, and he was kind of like: 'Yeah, he's got a lot to learn, so we'll see how he does.' I said to him: 'Listen, he was at Dortmund, and they had a high level of tactical thinking, of playing, and he was very successful.'
"He was considered one of the best young players in Germany, and that's in a group of players with Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Joshua Kimmich, these kinds of players.
"He was in a group with those players, and it's not just because he was talented but it was because he understood the tactics and understood how to fit in the game and he was developing a real astute way of how to play.
"I could see right away that Frank Lampard's idea of Christian Pulisic was shaped a lot by the fact that he was American and not that his football education came a lot from what has happened in Germany.
"Since then, I think Lampard has learned that Pulisic is a lot better than he gave him credit for.
"Christian had to fight for that, which is the American quality, but he's a damn good player. Same with Gio Reyna, same with Tyler Adams, same with Weston McKennie."
However, even with Thomas Tuchel now in charge, Pulisic has struggled to nail down a regular spot in the Chelsea squad.
This season has seen the USMNT talisman make just 23 appearances in all competitions and start just 13 of those games.
