Chelsea to interview Pochettino and four other managers to replace Potter – but Todd Boehly might miss talks

A report has revealed some of the managers that Chelsea are planning to interview after sacking Graham Potter on Sunday.

Potter has been under pressure for a while, but the final straw came after a defeat to Aston Villa over the weekend. After just seven months in charge, the former Brighton boss received his marching orders.

After previously pledging their faith in him for the long term, Chelsea owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali might have some explaining to do.

With 10 Premier League games left this season and a Champions League quarter-final to prepare for, Chelsea have placed Bruno Saltor in charge on an interim basis.

Soon, they will have to find a new permanent manager. And according to the Daily Telegraph, they are ready to oversee a more thorough process than when they picked Potter to replace Thomas Tuchel in September.

As a result, Chelsea now want to interview five candidates for their managerial vacancy.

Julian Nagelsmann is the frontrunner after leaving Bayern Munich to be replaced by, coincidentally, Tuchel.

But the Telegraph also reports that Chelsea want to interview Mauricio Pochettino and Luis Enrique, most recently in work with Paris Saint-Germain and Spain respectively.

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Pochettino, of course, previously managed Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. Indeed, he is the only manager on Chelsea’s shortlist at present to have worked in England before.

The report reminds that Chelsea have already held talks with Pochettino in the past. He was the only alternative candidate to Potter after Tuchel’s sack, but failed to get the job at that time.

There have been suggestions that Tottenham could offer Pochettino a second spell at the club themselves. However, the Daily Star has recently claimed he has been told he is not in the running to replace Antonio Conte there.

Consequently, he might be keeping a closer eye on developments with Chelsea instead.

Chelsea expand next manager shortlist

In addition, Chelsea would like to reach out to the representatives of Luciano Spalletti, who has led Napoli to the top of the Serie A table this season.

The Italian tactician has got his side playing an exciting brand of football. But there is a risk that his squad could be broken up in the summer and even he could be headhunted.

The fifth potential interviewee could be Eintracht Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner. After winning the Europa League last season, he is also being considered by Tottenham.

Boehly and Eghbali have delegated responsibility for the search to sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley. In fact, the co-controlling owners might not even attend all the interviews at the early stages.

Therefore, they will be hoping the more specific sporting expertise of Stewart – who previously worked with Nagelsmann at RB Leipzig, incidentally, along with technical director Christopher Vivell – and Winstanley might help the club make a more informed choice.

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