Just a few weeks ago, there were reports that the Chelsea owners are ready to back Graham Potter until the end of the season but they have just gone ahead and sacked him.
The Blues have been a mess this season and the loss to Aston Villa was the final nail in the coffin for the 47-year-old. A club statement on Sunday confirmed Potter’s departure and this sacking has come just days before they face Liverpool in the Premier League.
Bruno Saltor is going to take charge of the squad as the Interim Head Coach and now the hunt for the next Chelsea manager begins.
Several names have popped up since Potter’s departure so we decided to look at some of the managers who are in the run-in to become the successor to the English boss.
Julian Nagelsmann
Nagelsmann has just been sacked by Bayern Munich and the 35-year-old is currently the bookmakers’ favourite to take charge at Stamford Bridge.
He had a rather great record at Bayern so his sacking came as a surprise to many people. He managed 84 games for the Bavarians across all competitions and he averaged 2.34 points.
Julian Nagelsmann is also on Tottenham’s wishlist but most experts think, he will be a much better fit at Stamford Bridge. Spurs are looking for someone with experience but the Blues won’t might a charismatic young manager.
Potter might have been awed by the enormousness at Chelsea but that won’t be a problem for Nagelsmann because he’s managed Bayern Munich.
Zinedine Zidane
Zizou has been without a club since 2021 and if Chelsea want to win trophies then he is the man for the job.
His time at Real Madrid was trophy-laden, winning two La Liga trophies and three Champions League titles and it’s almost certain that the Blues are going to make contact with him for the job.
However, journalist Guillem Balague has said that Zidane is not in a hurry and is waiting for the perfect opportunity to get back into the game.
He has said: “Zidane is not in a rush. He needs to find the right place to do his thing.
“That will either be Real Madrid again, the national side of France, Juventus if they call, but if no-one calls that’s not a problem.”
Luis Enrique:
Enqirue is currently one of the favourites to land the Chelsea job and some rumours suggest that he is even keen to manage in the Premier League.
The 52-year-old is a very realistic candidate for the job but just like Nagelsmann, Enrique is also wanted by Tottenham so if the Blues want him onboard then they will have to battle their London rivals.
Mauricio Pochettino:
Pochettino is itching to come back into management and he also ranks very high on the bookmakers’ list.
Daniel Levy would love to bring him back to Spurs but if Chelsea come calling then there’s a very big chance that he will want to join the Blues. During his stint at Spurs, he worked on very limited resources so he will be sceptical about joining them again but at Stamford Bridge, Poch will have a world-class squad at his disposal and an absolutely massive transfer budget.
