Graham Potter paid for Chelsea’s poor run of form since Christmas with his job on Sunday as Todd Boehly sacked the Englishman just seven months into his Stamford Bridge tenure.
It perhaps wasn’t a surprise, but Potter may have felt hard done by, especially considering how much he’d spent during the January transfer window.
Thoughts now turn to who could take over with Fabrizio Romano since claiming that Julian Nagelsmann – available after being sacked by Bayern Munich – is “the favourite candidate” to replace Potter.
Boehly may be ready to strike fast and secure one of the game's most talented young managers but it may not be as straightforward as that, with the 35-year-old in no rush to find a new job according to Sky Germany.
This could throw a spanner in the works and might tempt the American to go after another manager for the role and there is one who is free and ready to begin work straight away – Zinedine Zidane.
Could Zinedine Zidane take over at Chelsea?
Zidane was linked with the Chelsea job back in February as growing pressure mounted on Potter following an indifferent start and following the recent news, the Frenchman will surely once again be under consideration.
He is currently unattached so wouldn’t cost any compensation and having managed Real Madrid – arguably the biggest club on the planet – taking over at the Stamford Bridge side shouldn’t daunt him the slightest.
The three-time World Player of the Year took over at the Bernabeu in 2016 following Rafa Benitez’s sacking and led the La Liga side to their finest era since the 1950s, becoming the first coach to win the Champions League three times in a row.
Along with the three European titles, Zidane won two league titles and a handful of other trophies across his two stints at the club and this rate of success may be too tempting for Boehly to turn down.
The 50-year-old's man management skills would bring the best out of these Chelsea players with his methods having worked wonders for players such as Luka Modric, who lavished praise on him while he was coach of Madrid, saying: "Every piece of advice he gives you is like gold dust and it helps you improve on the pitch."
With a points per match average of 2.24 having staggeringly lost just 21 league matches from 183 fixtures, he is a more than adequate alternative for Nagelsmann, who has a PPM average of 1.86 across 243 matches, losing 46 matches.
It speaks volumes for the club that they are in the position to be chasing two of the finest managers in the game, the question is, who will succeed Potter? Zidane could well be the man.