Since sacking Liam Rosenior, Chelsea have been linked with quite a few managers. Two of them are Andoni Iraola and Edin Terzic. Of course, Blues fans would like to see a proven winner being brought in but considering how BlueCo work, it would not be a surprise if they go for another experimental choice.
Iraola has Premier League experience and has done a phenomenal job at Bournemouth. That being said, it does not mean he would be the right fit for Chelsea.
What is a grand success at Bournemouth might be minimum expectations for most Chelsea fans. Is Iraola capable of making that jump? At Stamford Bridge, he would need to win trophies. Also, there are question marks about whether his high-intensity and front-foot style of football would suit what many consider to be a soft Blues squad.
Initially, it had looked like Iraola was the clear choice to be the next Athletic Bilbao manager as soon as it was announced that he would be leaving Bournemouth at the end of the season. He is a legend at the club. But now, it looks like that won’t be the case. And that does boost Chelsea’s chances of signing him.
Iraola to Athletic Bilbao seems to be off
According to Ben Jacobs, Terzic now has terms in place to become the new Athletic Club manager. Parties are yet to formalise but the former Borussia Dortmund boss appears more viable than Iraola, who is waiting until the end of the season before deciding his next move.
Of course, many Chelsea fans would not have been opposed to seeing Terzic in the Stamford Bridge dugout. He guided Borussia Dortmund to a Champions League final and almost won the Bundesliga title with them as well.
Now, it looks like he is headed to Spain instead. But that does open up their chances when it comes to landing the signature of Iraola. His heading back to Athletic Bilbao had seemed like the obvious move. But now, it appears that it is not on the cards.
Iraola would bring a big change to the Chelsea philosophy
Like I already mentioned, Iraola’s style of football is very different to what Chelsea were playing under Enzo Maresca, when they achieved their biggest successes of the BlueCo era. That makes any appointment risky.
Iraola’s football is almost a variation of Jurgen Klopp’s at Liverpool. It is based on high tempo, intense pressing, trying to get the opposition to make mistakes and then direct attacks.
Of course, if Chelsea want to implement that style, they will need to sign the right players for it. Otherwise, this will go down as another poorly thought-out move on the part of BlueCo, who have quite the history of making those.
