Chelsea have approached Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique as they look to appoint a new manager, while it's emerged that Roberto de Zerbi is out of the running.
The Blues are searching for their next boss after sacking Graham Potter on Sunday, putting an end to his miserable seven-month spell at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea paid Brighton a £21.5million compensation fee for Potter's services back in September and his replacement on the south coast, Italian coach De Zerbi, was tipped to succeed him once again.
According to multiple reports, however, the Seagulls manager will be staying put while Chelsea, with co-controlling owner Todd Boehly at the forefront, look elsewhere for a successor. After running the rule over a wide range of candidates, the Telegraph report that Boehly and co have made contact with Nagelsmann and Enrique, who are both thought to be interested in the job and are available for work.
De Zerbi, meanwhile, was asked Potter's sacking ahead of Brighton's clash trip to Bournemouth on Tuesday. "I want to say thanks to Graham Potter," the former Shakhtar Donetsk and Sassuolo boss told reporters. " I have a team with a very good attitude and mentality.
"It is difficult when you don't know the situation or another dressing room. I don't like speaking about other teams and coaches. I am sorry because when there are these situations they are sad."
Having been reluctant to dismiss Potter after Saturday's dismal 2-0 loss at home to Aston Villa, Boehly wielded the axe for the second time in seven months after sacking Thomas Tuchel earlier this season. Tuchel is now back in work at Bayern Munich, where he replaced Nagelsmann after his ruthless sacking less than a fortnight ago.
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Chelsea will be managed by interim boss Bruno Saltor for Tuesday's huge home game against Liverpool. It's expected that the Spaniard, who spent a decade at Brighton as a player and coach before moving up to West London alongside Potter, will also take charge of their trip to Wolves on Saturday.
That would mean next week's Champions League quarter-final match away to European champions Real Madrid could be the new Blues manager's first outing, although their current boss would be happy to continue. "I feel good, it is my duty and it is a duty of responsibility," Saltor said on Monday. "I am in a really important club and I am going to try my best.
"All of us, we know the situation here and it is what it is and we need to focus on this game, on Liverpool, and thinking about the past and what has happened before is not going to help me now. My ambition is to improve every day and try to show who I am and to be myself, and that is what I am going to try to do in the next few days."
