Chelsea’s owners are keen to hire their new manager within the next week but share one big concern over top target Julian Nagelsmann.
The Blues are on the hunt for their third boss of the season after Graham Potter was sacked on Sunday night, less than seven months after he replaced Thomas Tuchel.
Nagelsmann – who was sacked by Bayern Munich two weeks ago and replaced by Tuchel – emerged as the frontrunner to take the reins at Stamford Bridge, with co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali huge fans of the German.
Having quickly appointed Potter after firing Tuchel, Boehly was said to be keen on taking their time over finding their new manager and planned to interview at least five managers including Nagelsmann, Mauricio Pochettino and Luis Enrique.
However, The Times now report that Chelsea are keen to get their new head coach through the door before they travel to Real Madrid next Wednesday to maximise their chances of winning the Champions League.
The club 11th in the Premier League table, 12 points off the top four, with European qualification of any description looking increasingly unlikely – unless they win the Champions League of course.
But the report also states that while that is the ideal scenario for the board, they are also content with interim boss Bruno Saltor being in charge for the trip to the Santiago Bernabeu.
However, Sky Sports also report that while Nagelsmann is greatly admired in west London, there is concern over his age, with the German only 35-years-old.
One of the main factors that lead to Potter’s dismissal was that players lacked respect for him and they fear history could repeat itself.
It should be said though, that Potter’s inexperience was at managing at the elite level and winning major trophies and Nagelsmann, while young, has already managed at Bayern and RB Leipzig, winning the Bundesliga last season with the former.
For now, Bruno is in the dugout with Chelsea set to host Liverpool on Tuesday night.
MORE : Chelsea interim boss Bruno Saltor makes worrying admission ahead of Liverpool clash
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