"Enormously popular with the crowd" - Chelsea urged to appoint former manager after their loss to Southampton as their terrible form continues

Sports pundit Richard Keys has called for the replacement of Chelsea manager Graham Potter with Blues legend and current AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho.

The west London club's torrid run of form has raised some questions around Potter's ability. They hit a new low on Saturday (February 18) after a disappointing 1-0 loss at home to bottom-placed Southampton.

The result means that Chelsea have won just one of their last five games, scoring just two goals in the process.

Keys said:

"Jose Mourinho is a former Chelsea manager who’s enormously popular with the crowd. He’s the most successful individual the club has ever employed.

"I think Chelsea fans would react well to that. Todd Boehly is a populist so he will want to give the fans something to get excited about."

He added:

"The experiment with Graham Potter has failed miserably so that’s got to change. Boehly needs a get out of jail free card and that’s Jose Mourinho.

"Mourinho would be the most popular of appointments that Boehly could make right now and would buy him time in his project."

While it is believed that Potter's job is safe under the reign of new owner Todd Boehly, the miserable run of form has certainly raised eyebrows amidst the team's lavish spending. They have spent over a combined £500 million in the past two windows, including the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk and Joao Felix on loan.

Mourinho is well-respected at Stamford Bridge, having served as manager for two stints. His first stint saw the team win back-to-back Premier League trophies in 2004-05 and 2005-06. He won another Premier League title in his second stint in 2014-15 before being sacked the following season.

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Chelsea linked with top managers as Graham Potter replacements

Blues manager Graham Potter is facing a lot of criticism.

Chelsea have been linked with various top managers as their horrid run of results under manager Graham Potter continues. Although Fabrizio Romano reported that a change at Stamford Bridge is not imminent, reports have arisen that the Blues could look to make a change.

The London outfit took a massive risk by sacking Champions League-winning manager Thomas Tuchel just a month into the season after a poor start.

Spanish outlet Fichajes report that managers like Luis Enrique and Zinedine Zidane are in the conversation to replace the former Brighton and Hove Albion tactician. The report also mentions names like Mauricio Pochettino and Diego Simeone. It remains to be seen how patient new owner Todd Boehly will be after the team's monumental spending in the last two windows.