Chelsea manager latest: Fabrizio Romano drops Julian Nagelsmann bombshell and reveals new favourite to take over

Julian Nagelsmann is no longer the favourite to take over at Chelsea as the German has withdrawn his name from the running, according to trusted source Fabrizio Romano.

On Tuesday, it emerged Nagelsmann had moved ahead of Luis Enrique in Chelsea’s list of potential replacements for interim boss Frank Lampard. The next day, Matt Law of The Telegraph revealed Chelsea had decided to end their talks with Enrique.

Instead, they began prioritising Nagelsmann and former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino. Ruben Amorim of Sporting Libson was sidelined, just like Enrique.

Romano recently explained why Chelsea should do all they can to appoint Nagelsmann. The transfer guru labelled him an ‘elite coach’ who can head up Todd Boehly’s project for the ‘long term’.

However, Boehly will no longer be able to take the former Bayern Munich boss to Stamford Bridge.

On Friday afternoon, Romano revealed how Nagelsmann has withdrawn from the race to manage Chelsea. It is his ‘final decision’, Romano wrote in a tweet.

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Chelsea have held multiple rounds of talks with Nagelsmann and his entourage and viewed him as the ‘top candidate’. But that pursuit is now dead and buried.

In a follow-up tweet, Romano gave one reason why Nagelsmann has opted against a Chelsea move. It is claimed that the two parties fail to agree on several ‘crucial points’.

Julian Nagelsmann opts against replacing Potter

Chelsea are deciding their next step carefully as they do not want to make the same mistake as they did with Graham Potter. They know they need a big-name manager capable of leading a dressing room full of top stars.

With Nagelsmann no longer in the running, attention has now turned to Pochettino. Romano describes the Argentine as being ‘in the race’, while also reiterating the fact Enrique is no longer under consideration.

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany is another coach on Chelsea’s radar. However, his move to west London would be a surprising one for a couple of reasons.

The first is Kompany’s lack of experience managing at the top level. He has only been in charge of Anderlecht and Burnley in the Championship so far, so a move to Chelsea would be a risk for both parties.

Admittedly, Kompany has done incredibly well to get Burnley to return to the top flight at the first time of asking. But this does not automatically mean he will shine at a ‘big six’ club so early in his managerial career.

Another factor to consider is Kompany’s close ties with Manchester City. He is a legend at the Etihad, having made 360 appearances for the club and helped them to win trophies such as the Prem, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

Kompnany probably would not want to join Chelsea as it would damage his great reputation among the City faithful.

As things stand, it appears Pochettino is the most likely manager to replace Lampard this summer. He boasts good pedigree, having taken Tottenham to a Champions League final in 2019 and won a Ligue 1 title with PSG.

Although, there were rumours Pochettino struggled to cope with the demands of having so many world-class stars in his squad at PSG. Those issues could come back to haunt the tactician if he moves to Chelsea.

Meanwhile, Friday’s Euro Paper Talk includes a Liverpool and Chelsea target revealing what his ‘dream’ next destination would be.