Chelsea fired Graham Potter last night after a horrendous run of form that limited the club’s progression and led it to the bottom half of the Premier League. “Potterball” only won 12 of the 31 matches in charge since September last year.
Now, Soccer Scoop understands that the club’s co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have tasked sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley to interview up to five candidates for a permanent managerial role at Chelsea and the list includes some managers that are still employed.
Julian Nagelsmann
Just a few weeks after being sacked from Bayern Munich, Nagelsmann has emerged as a favourite for the Chelsea job. The fact that he previously worked with Steward and Chelsea’s technical director Christopher Vivell at RB Leipzig is a plus for him but we understand he would like to wait until the season ends before returning to football management.
Mauricio Pochettino
Ever since he was relieved of his duties at Paris Saint-Germaine (PSG) at the end of last season, he has been on the unemployment line patiently waiting for the next big job to become available. There has been talk of his return to former club Tottenham Hotspur but Chelsea are also knocking. The Argentinian is one of those that could take over the reins at Stamford Bridge.
Luis Enrique
After almost four months since his resignation from the Spain national team, Enrique has emerged as a possible candidate to take over at Chelsea. The former Barcelona manager has also been admired by Tottenham to fill the same position, but it is believed Chelsea could be a more interesting project for him, not to mention their financial muscle.
Luciano Spalletti
Spalletti has made wonders for Na[poli this season and they are about to win their first Italian Serie A in 33 years while playing attractive football as well as advancing in the Champions League. This has made Spalleti a much sought-after manager and he won’t be the first Italian to manage at Chelsea. The club has found success with Italian managers like Roberto Di Mateo, Maurizio Sarri and Antonio Conte in the recent past.
Can Napoli let their man go after giving them success at the end of this season? We will wait and see.
According to the Telegraph, there’s a fifth unnamed candidate that is also being lined up for interviews at Chelsea and it has been reported that Boehly and company want the hiring process to be handled carefully so they can get the right man for the job this time.
