Chelsea intend to interview at least five candidates to replace Graham Potter – including former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino.
The Blues then search Stamford Bridge for Potter’s permanent successor sack ex-Brighton boss on Sunday night.
Potter had managed the Premier League giants for less than seven months and had overseen a disappointing spell that saw Chelsea fall to the bottom half of the Premier League.
The 47-year-old won just 12 of his 31 games under Chelsea’s management, despite the club’s new owners having spent nearly £600 million on new signings this season.
Former Brighton midfielder Bruno Saltor has been temporarily put in charge of the side and Chelsea return to action against Liverpool on Tuesday evening.
The Blues hierarchy are reportedly willing to wait until the end of the season to appoint Chelsea’s new manager and are keen to interview at least five candidates for the job.
According to the Daily telegramChelsea sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley – who have been put in charge of the recruitment process – will interview Julian Nagelsmann, who has emerged as the early front-runner for the job.
Germany manager Nagelsmann is one of the highest-rated managers in Europe despite being sacked from Bayern Munich last month and would be interested in speaking to Chelsea about the vacancy.
But Chelsea are also expected to interview ex-Spurs boss Pochettino, former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique, Napoli’s Luciano Spalletti and at least one other candidate.
Blues owner Todd Boehly interviewed Pochettino after sacking Champions League winning manager Thomas Tuchel at the start of the season, but ultimately chose to put his faith in Potter.
Pochettino is still loved by Tottenham fans after his earlier spell in north London and has been linked with a return to Spurs since Antonio Conte’s sacking last month.
Chelsea are aware that Tottenham are also looking for a new head coach, while there is a sense that Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid could enter the managerial market at the end of the season.
Chelsea’s owners said they were ‘disappointed’ to fire Potter, but former Blues striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink believes they made the right decision.
“When you play for a big club in the Premier League, you have to deliver results and those results are not there,” he told Sky Sports. “I thought Potter’s appointment was okay, it just didn’t work out.
“He came in September, had a lot of problems with injuries and couldn’t really get them going.
“You know what’s going to happen if you don’t win games, it’s only going to take so long for them to start changing something.”
MORE : How Graham Potter reacted to Chelsea’s sacking and why players were kept in the dark
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