John Barnes believes Chelsea should not appoint Kieran McKenna or Enzo Maresca as Mauricio Pochettino’s replacement.
Pochettino left the Blues by mutual consent earlier this week meaning Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital are once again searching for a new manager. football.london understands that Chelsea are hoping to appoint a new manager by the end of next week and there are a number of names in the frame to replace Pochettino.
Chelsea have already made contact with Ipswich over a move for McKenna, while Leicester boss Maresca, Stuttgart boss Sebastian Hoeness and Brentford’s Thomas Frank are also of interest. However, former Liverpool winger Barnes has strongly advised McKenna and Maresca to reject the advances of the Blues.
Speaking to mybettingsites.co.uk, Barnes said: “This would be a risky move for Maresca or McKenna. Not for Chelsea. You’re going to a club as a young, inexperienced manager without any control over the players, transfers and the way the club is run.
“I don’t think this is a route that Chelsea should go down because they need someone that can come in and be the strongest man at the club. Somebody that will lead the club.
“I think Brighton will give Kieran McKenna the opportunity to do that. Chelsea are a huge club and he’ll make a lot of money but in terms of having control and being the man in charge Brighton makes more sense.”
Sky Sports News reported on Thursday that Manchester United have also held talks with McKenna’s representatives about potentially replacing Erik ten Hag. Barnes doubts the Ipswich boss will move to Old Trafford, however, and believes Chelsea should be looking for a manager with experience.
“I don’t see United fighting it out for McKenna because they already have a manager. If they decide to sack Ten Hag then they can be in the hunt for Kieran McKenna but at the moment they have a man in charge,” Barnes said.
“From Chelsea and Brighton’s perspective he’s done very well at the club. He’s led them to two back to back promotions. If I had to choose a club for McKenna between Brighton and Chelsea I would choose Brighton.
“Chelsea should be looking for someone with more experience and a bigger name. We’ve seen the problems at Chelsea when you have some many egos and superstar players who you’ve spent lots of money on. How can a manager that is relatively inexperienced and just coming into the game control that situation?”
