Chelsea

Chelsea

Premier League • England

Next Chelsea manager: Todd Boehly plots incredible move for Champions League-winning boss to replace Graham Potter

Luis Enrique and Zinedine Zidane

Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly is going big in his hunt for the club’s new manager and reportedly wants a Champions League-winning boss to replace Graham Potter.

There is plenty of uncertainty surrounding Potter’s future at Stamford Bridge. David Ornstein of The Athletic believes the Englishman will be given at least until the end of the season to improve Chelsea’s fortunes.

Ornstein says Chelsea will judge Potter over months and years rather than individual games. However, other sources, such as 90Min, state Chelsea are offering the job to different coaches.

Earlier on Wednesday, it emerged that the Blues had approached former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino. But Chelsea ‘are not ticking the right boxes’ for him, so he has rejected their advances.

This is great news for Chelsea’s London rivals Tottenham, who are looking into re-hiring Pochettino if Antonio Conte leaves at the end of his contract this summer.

While Spurs could get Pochettino back in for a second spell, Boehly hopes Chelsea can pull off a major coup by landing a manager with great Champions League pedigree.


READ MORE: Chelsea man to choose between two of Europe’s biggest clubs with Todd Boehly eager to agree departure


As per CaughtOffside, who cite reports coming out of Spain, Zinedine Zidane is on Boehly’s radar in case Potter is axed.

Chelsea are apparently planning to offer him a lucrative contract worth €15million (£13.1m) per season. This would see Zidane become one of the highest-paid managers in the world.

Zinedine Zidane faces big Chelsea decision

The report suggests Zidane could be attracted by the potential of managing in England. After all, the Premier League is the strongest division in Europe right now. And at Chelsea, the World Cup winner would have the funds to sign some huge names.

Zidane would quite simply be a sensational capture for Chelsea. He became the first manager to win three consecutive UCL trophies with Real Madrid between 2016 and 2018. Plus, at Real Zidane proved he has the ability to deal with the biggest and best players.

However, it would be a huge surprise if Boehly ended up being successful in his pursuit of Zidane’s signature. The 50-year-old has rejected Paris Saint-Germain on a couple of occasions, and the Ligue 1 side would be a better fit for him than Chelsea.

It is thought that Zidane is waiting for the France job to become available. He will have been gunning for Didier Deschamps to end his long association with the national side after the Qatar World Cup.

However, Deschamps signed a new contract with Les Blues in January which will keep him there until 2026, unless he is sacked. This could force Zidane to take up one of the club opportunities being presented to him.

Meanwhile, three BT Sport pundits have discussed the form of an ‘elite’ striker and predicted whether Chelsea will beat Manchester United in the chase for him.