Southampton boss would be the perfect choice for Chelsea
Published:
The wily face of Ronald Koeman is staring up from the back pages of The Daily Mirror today, with the Dutch manager interested in a new job.
According to the tabloid, the 52-year-old is hoping that Guus Hiddink will put in a good word for him as he hopes to take over the hot-seat at Stamford Bridge,
The Southampton boss is currently priced at 33/1 to be the become the next permanent Chelsea, but a good word from his countryman would see that prospect become more likely.
Hiddink is a favourite with the west Londoners due to his previous spell in charge, when he managed turn the Blues’ season round after Luiz Scolari struggled in the dugout in 2009.
The 69-year-old boss eventually won the FA Cup with Chelsea and finds himself in a similar situation this season.
Therefore, a recommendation from Hiddink would carry weight at Stamford Bridge and the club would be wise to listen to him on this occasion.
Koeman would be a canny appointment by Roman Abramovich, especially as the Dutch manager has more Premier League experience than any of the other names linked with the vacancy.
Scolari and Andre Villas-Boas are living proof that success abroad is no guarantee of doing well at Chelsea and the current favourites for the hot seat would risk repeating these failings.
Jorge Sampaoli is currently leading the market, with odds of 13/8, but the former-Chile manager has never taken the reins of a team outside of South America.
Similarly, Antonio Conte is priced at 7/2 to head to Stamford Bridge, but he has never had a job outside of Italy.
Koeman has showed that he has what it takes to succeed in the English top-flight, after guiding the Saints to a seventh-place finish and his overall career win percentage of 54.5% shows he knows how to triumph.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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