Cesar Azpilicueta has dropped a small hint that he would like Luis Enrique to become Chelsea’s new manager.
Enrique is currently the favourite to take the reins at Stamford Bridge, having recently flown to west London to have talks with Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.
Chelsea are looking to appoint a permanent successor to the sacked Graham Potter by the start of the summer, with Frank Lampard returning to the club as interim manager until the end of the season.
Julian Nagelsmann is also heavily linked but many other names are said to be under consideration including Lampard, Brendan Rodgers, Mauricio Pochettino and Zinedine Zidane.
Enrique has strong credentials, having won the treble with Barcelona in 2015 and managed some of the world’s biggest and best players through his time at the Camp Nou and the Spain national team.
This includes the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez and several Chelsea stars, past and present, including Azpilicueta.
The Blues captain has won 44 caps for his country since his international debut in 2013 and was included in the squads for the World Cups in 2014, 2018 and 2022 as well as Euro 2020 – the most recent two of those under the management of Enrique.
Speaking to Spanish outlet EFE, the defender was keen not avoid direct questions about the managerial situation at Chelsea, saying: ‘There are parts [of the club] who negotiate, that we trust with doing what is best for the club. We will see what happens.’
But asked if he liked the idea of Enrique or indeed any Spanish manager being appointed, the 33-year-old did say: ‘My best games with the national team were with Luis Enrique as coach.’
Azpilicueta has continued to play a big part in the Chelsea team this season, making 26 appearances so far, and is close to returning to action having suffered a bad head injury against Southampton back in February.
But he is unlikely to be back in time for the Champions League quarter-final first leg at Real Madrid on Wednesday.
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