CHELSEA are in no rush to appoint a new manager.
Julian Nagelsmann is the early favourite for the Stamford Bridge hotseat after the Blues sacked Graham Potter on Sunday.
But SunSport understands owner Todd Boehly is preparing for a long and thorough search for a new boss after seeing his first appointment flop inside seven months.
The Blues sacked Graham Potter after just seven months in charge and £330million spent in the January transfer window on Sunday.
Potter was hired on a five-year deal worth £12m-a-year after Champions League-winning manager Thomas Tuchel was axed following a poor start to the season.
Chelsea backed the former Brighton boss with £330million in the January transfer window, taking their spend this season above £600m.
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However, Potter has been unable to turn the club’s Chelsea’s fortunes around with the Blues sliding to 11th in the top-flight after their 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday.
Bruno Saltor will take charge of the West Londoners until a permanent successor for Potter is appointed.
And it is understood Bruno could stay in charge as interim head coach for the rest of the campaign.
Boehly and the rest of Chelsea’s top brass have accepted that they are unlikely to qualify for next season’s Champions League via a top four finish – although they are preparing to face Real Madrid in the quarter-finals next week.
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Therefore they are prepared to wait and launch an extensive search for a new man to take charge and lead them long-term.
German coach Nagelsmann, who was surprisingly sacked by Bayern Munich last month and replaced by Tuchel, is the early bookies favourite for the job.
The 35-year-old arrived at Bayern from RB Leipzig in 2021 and won the league by eight points in his first season in charge as well as leading them to back-to-back German Supercup wins.
Reports have also claimed that new Chelsea technical director Christian Vivell is “pushing” for him to take charge.
Former Spurs and PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino is another favourite with the bookies and remains a free agent having been sacked by Paris Saint-Germain in June 2022 despite leading them to the French title.
Other candidates include former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane, former Spain manager Luis Enrique, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Oliver Glasner, and even two-time former Blues boss Jose Mourinho, who is now at Roma.
Potter, 47, leaves Chelsea with the WORST record of any Blues manager in the Premier League era, being dismissed after a horror run.
The former Brighton boss leaves Stamford Bridge with the worst points-per-game record of Blues bosses who have managed more than 20 games – picking up an average of 1.27 points per game.
Potter won seven of his 22 league matches in charge of the club, drew seven and lost eight.
That translated to the Blues collecting a mere 28 points from an available 66.
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Potter was in charge of Chelsea for a total of 31 games, in which he won 12, drew eight and lost eleven matches.
That dismal record equated to an average of 1.42 points per match for the five-time Premier League winners.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
