Chelsea have held in-person talks with one of the favourites to become their next manager, according to reports. With Frank Lampard currently acting as a placeholder ahead of a permanent appointment still to come, the exhaustive and thorough process appears to have taken another step.
On the pitch the Blues continue to falter, losing to Brighton on Saturday as Lampard's return to management at Stamford Bridge falls flat ahead of the giant Champions League quarter-final, second leg tie against Real Madrid. On the periphery to this they are still conducting talks with candidates for the vacant head coach role heading into next season.
With Luis Enrique and Mauricio Pochettino amongst the names being considered at this stage, the Times report that Julian Nagelsmann has now followed suit and met the club for further conversations. The German is out of work after being fired by Bayern Munich last month.
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He is also on the radar of Tottenham, though it is said he would prefer a move to SW6, but uncertainty over the long-term future of Christopher Galtier at Paris Saint-Germain and Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid mean he remains a man in demand and with plenty of options.
Chelsea themselves have a plethora of candidates too, with a lengthy shortlist including Ruben Amorim of Sporting CP, Vincent Kompany at Burnley and Luciano Spalletti at Napoli. Nagelsmann has a potential advantage over these other managers though, having worked closely with Christopher Vivell and Laurence Stewart at RB Leipzig.
It is Stewart and Paul Winstanley that are conducting the initial hiring process before advising Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali on the next steps. They have already met with Enrique in person - football.london reported last month that the Spaniard flew to London to speak directly to the club over the job, and have continued their efforts to find the right man with further talks with 35-year-old Nagelsmann.
He, and his agency Sports360, were said to be keen on hearing the long-term plans in place at Stamford Bridge after Boehly and Co moved on from Graham Potter following the 2-0 loss to Aston Villa. It means they are already searching for the third full-time boss in under 12 months of ownership.
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