Chelsea have held face-to-face talks with Julian Nagelsmann for the first time, though their search for a new manager is expanding with two more candidates added to their shortlist.
The west London club sacked Graham Potter at the start of the month after just 31 matches in charge and are now conducting a thorough and comprehensive search for a replacement.
Chelsea’s co-sporting directors, Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, are leading the process and will vet and interview all their candidates before submitted a recommendation to the club’s owners.
Nagelsmann is believed to be one of the frontrunners to land the job along with former Spain and Barcelona manager Luis Enrique, who has already spoken to the duo.
Now, according to The Times, Winstanley and Stewart have also held in-person discussions with Nagelsmann as they try and whittle down their search.
They met last Thursday to discuss his vision for the club and coaching philosophy, while the German himself was keen to get an understanding of Chelsea’s long-term plans and how much authority he would have if selected for the role.
Chelsea are still continuing to explore other potential managerial targets, and no preferred option has yet been identified.
Interestingly, the club’s search has actually expanded recently as they explore every possible avenue, with Burnley manager Vincent Kompany also someone they would like to speak to.
The 37-year-old has secured promotion back to the Premier League with the Clarets and is also wanted by Tottenham, with many feeling he could have a similar impact at an established, top-four chasing side as Mikel Arteta has had at Arsenal.
Another even more left-field choice Chelsea will also vet and potentially speak to is Palmeiras’ Portuguese coach Abel Ferreira.
The other, more established names on the club’s shortlist include Mauricio Pochettino, Napoli boss Luciano Spaletti and Sporting head coach Ruben Amorim – who impressed when his side knocked Arsenal out of the Europa League.
Nagelsmann, meanwhile, is likely to wait a while before making any decision over his future and his preference would be a move to Real Madrid should the Spanish giants part company with Carlo Ancelotti.
Chelsea are next in action against Real Madrid in the Champions League needing to overturn a two-goal deficit, though that seems unlikely given they have lost all three of their matches under interim boss Frank Lampard so far.
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