According to talkSPORT, Chelsea have made contact with the representatives of both Luis Enrique and Julian Nagelsmann as the search for a successor to Graham Potter intensifies.
The west London club parted company with Potter on Sunday evening following a 2-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa which left the side reeling in the bottom-half of the table with just two wins from their previous nine Premier League games.
In some ways, Potter’s Chelsea exit came as bit of a shock, not due to the pedigree of the club or the performances on the pitch given only a few managers survive a run of just five wins in 20 games at club the size of Chelsea and the axe duly fell on the former Brighton & Hove Albion boss, but because of the timing.
It was reported that Potter had survived the fallout of a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa, but Todd Boehly had enough of his experiment, and decided to fire him off the back of a shambolic meeting on Sunday morning.
With a Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid looming later this month, the club is in utter disarray.
That competition represents Chelsea’s only chance of success this season and it now looks like caretaker boss Bruno Saltor will be in charge for that massive showdown.
Saltor, in fact, is now taking over coaching duties on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is found.
Chelsea would prefer to appoint a new manager before the end of the season, keeping in mind the Champions League quater-final’s two legs, while they are also aware of how many clubs will be competing for new managers come summer.
The Blues have already compiled a shortlist of potential candidates and have now made first approaches with two of their top targets: Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique.
Nagelsmann was shockingly sacked by Bayern Munich manager last month and would be keen on taking over the reins at Stamford Bridge, however he prefers to take a short break and wait until the summer before joining a new club.
The Bundesliga heavyweights have effectively put the German tactician on gardening leave, and interested teams must have to pay a fee to Bayern to acquire his services.
On the other hand, Enrique has been free for work since leaving his role as Spain manager following the humiliating World Cup exit and would be ready to start immediately.
The Spaniard prefers a possession-based passing-heavy system and enjoys developing young players, having built his La Roja side around teenagers Pedri and Gavi, but he also got the experience working with superstars owing to his treble-winning experience at Barcelona.
Enrique recently hinted that he would be keen to test his mettle in the Premier League, albeit he only wants to join an important club.
“I would like to go to England to work,” said Enrique. “I would like to go to a team there that can do important things and that is very difficult. I would not go to any Premier team.
“Since the World Cup ended, I haven’t read the Spanish press. I haven’t seen social networks, I only read the English press.”
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