Chelsea have finalised the top three leading candidates that could be the manager going into the 2024/25 season. Thomas Frank, Enzo Maresca and Kieran McKenna are all admired by the Chelsea board and here is why.

Chelsea will appoint a new head coach by the end of next week 🚨

Kaveh Solhekol reports that the leading candidates are Thomas Frank, Enzo Maresca, Kieran McKenna along with a 'high-profile mystery name' 🔵 pic.twitter.com/4RaqZjZhP5

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 23, 2024

First on the list is Thomas Frank. Admired for his success at Brentford, the Danish manager first took full charge of Brentford in the 2019/20 season and in the 2020/21 season, took his side to the Premier League for the first time since 1946/47.

Finishing 13th in his first Premier League season, Frank narrowly missed out on European football in the following season as Brentford placed 9th. This season just gone, Brentford finished 16th, significantly lower than a man of Frank’s qualities should be finishing.

Thomas Frank in particular has a number of admirers at #Chelsea, and his Premier League experience could yet give him an edge.

(@MailSport)

— Chels HQ (@Chels_HQ) May 23, 2024

The Dane seems like the best fit for Chelsea after having 2 strong seasons in the Premier League and developing fantastic players along the way, he seems to have a lot more to bring to the table at Chelsea in quicker succession than Maresca and McKenna may have.

The second candidate, Enzo Maresca, admired for his play style that he brought to Leicester last season. Maresca was Pep Guardiola’s assistant in the 22/23 season with Manchester City and has taken Guardiola’s play style and adapted it to his Leicester side that gained promotion at the first time of asking.

Chelsea want to speak to Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca as they pursue a replacement for Mauricio Pochettino 👔🔵 pic.twitter.com/8cxez7hn38

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 23, 2024

Last season was Maresca’s first season as a manager but his recruitment and ability to get Leicester straight back into the Premier League is nothing but a testament to his knowledge of the game.

Will he be a good fit for Chelsea, a side wanting Champions League football and to bring back glory? Maybe. Marseca definitely has the knowledge but whether this group of footballers will be able to adapt quickly and see instant success, you would not be surprised to see him get the boot for not winning anything straight away.

Finally, Kieran McKenna. Yet another Championship manager that led Ipswich to a historic second place, in their first season since promotion from League One. McKenna has been offered a new deal by Ipswich but after interest from Brighton and Chelsea, you would find it hard to want to stay put at Ipswich.

🚨🔵 Brighton are confident of beating Chelsea to a deal for Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna, reports @TimesSport. pic.twitter.com/J6PcMyjLSp

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) May 23, 2024

McKenna is still in his first managerial role, much like Marseca, but McKenna has achieved something not many managers have been able to do. Back to back promotions from League One and then straight to the Premier League with a side that you would not necessarily look at and think Premier League quality.

McKenna is wanted for his achievement with Ipswich but for a club as big as Chelsea, it does raise questions as to why the London club are not aiming a lot higher.

I do not think it would be the best move for Chelsea since they will be playing in European football next season and could be potentially doing that with a manager that was in League One only two seasons ago. It may be a great move for McKenna, but for Chelsea, it is difficult to understand what goes on behind the scenes.

▪️ Thomas Frank
▪️ Sebastian Hoeneß
▪️ Kieran McKenna
▪️ Enzo Maresca
▪️ Roberto De Zerbi

Audition time at Chelsea 🎬 pic.twitter.com/Okw0htSoVZ

— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 23, 2024

Aside from those three main candidates, De Zerbi has just left Brighton in a shock turn of events. He would be a much better fit as the Italian has European experience against some big international teams, he has caused major upsets to big teams in the league and is also highly admired by the likes of Pep Guardiola and we cannot forget about his ability to recruit players and turn them into superstars.

Chelsea definitely need to have a rethink as to who they want to appoint and who can take them the furthest.