Chelsea have held face to face talks with former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann as the Blues step up their search for Graham Potter's permanent replacement.
Potter was sacked by Chelsea earlier this month after less than seven months in charge, with the club languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League following a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa. Just four days later, Frank Lampard returned to Stamford Bridge as caretaker manager until the end of the season while the club looks for a more permanent successor.
Nagelsmann, who was himself sacked by Bayern in March, was immediately linked with the role along with the likes of former Spain and Barcelona manager Luis Enrique and ex-PSG and Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino.
There are obvious links between Nagelsmann and Chelsea's hierarchy, with technical directors Laurence Stewart and Christopher Vivell both working closely with him at RB Leipzig. Vivell also worked with Nagelsmann at Hoffenheim.
And Sky Sports are now reporting that Stewart and director of global talent and transfers Paul Winstanley jetted off to Germany last week to speak with Nagelsmann about the vacancy at Stamford Bridge. The report adds that Chelsea have already spoken to Bayern about potential compensation due to the Bundesliga giants if they decide to appoint him.
However, it is noted that both Enrique and Pochettino remain under consideration, along with Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim. Despite the Blues holding discussions with prospective managers, they are not planning to cut Lampard's second reign short.
Since returning, Lampard has been in charge for three straight defeats to Wolves, Real Madrid and Brighton. And speaking after the loss to Brighton, Lampard was critical of the squad's fitness, stating: "At the minute, it has been mostly conversations and meetings than training pitch stuff.
"Training pitch stuff was all pretty walkthrough and low level because of the [tiredness] in the legs. It is more about speaking to the players individually. When we do get the chance to work, I think the team needs some physical work.
"I think that's important for us because at this level you have to be right on the limit and we are not on the limit right now. I think that can be a capacity thing with the players for whatever reason. It doesn't matter how we got there but it needs to be addressed now."
