Chelsea have drawn up a three-man shortlist to replace Graham Potter after axing the former Brighton boss less than seven months in charge of the club, according to reports.
Potter succeeded Thomas Tuchel, who recently became Bayern Munich manager, last September and endured an ill-fated spell at Stamford Bridge this season.
Chelsea languish in 11th place in the Premier League table and are 12 points outside of the top four with 10 league matches left to be played.
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Potter’s disappointing spell came to an end on Sunday after Chelsea’s shock 2-0 Premier League defeat to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
“On behalf of everyone at the club, we want to thank Graham sincerely for his contribution to Chelsea,” Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said.
“We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person.
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“He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome.
“Along with our incredible fans, we will all be getting behind Bruno and the team as we focus on the rest of the season.
“We have 10 Premier League games remaining and a Champions League quarter-final ahead.
“We will put every effort and commitment into every one of those games so that we can end the season on a high.”
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Bruno Saltor, who was assistant coach under Potter at Chelsea, has been appointed the Blues’ interim head coach until a new manager is found.
According to The Independent’s Miguel Delaney, Chelsea’s three-man shortlist to replace Potter includes Roberto De Zerbi, Mauricio Pochettino and Julian Nagelsmann.
“Chelsea have already been considering Mauricio Pochettino, Roberto De Zerbi and - most recently - Julian Nagelsmann in case the worst happened,” he tweeted.
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Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano also added that former Bayern manager Nagelsmann is believed to be the “favourite candidate” to succeed Potter.
“Julian Nagelsmann is the [favourite] candidate to replace Graham Potter as new Chelsea head coach, as reported yesterday,” he tweeted.
“Nagelsmann was mentioned yesterday during internal discussions — Julian is considered a talented coach.
“Talks are ongoing to make [the] best decision.”
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Nagelsmann was axed late last month from the German club and replaced with former Chelsea boss Tuchel after a disappointing campaign with Bayern.
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Topics: Graham Potter, Chelsea, Premier League, England, Football, Julian Nagelsmann, Mauricio Pochettino
Adnan Riaz