Ruben Amorim, Kieran McKenna and Sebastian Hoeness will be among the leading contenders to replace Mauricio Pochettino as Chelsea manager.
Pochettino’s exit just a year into a two-year contract was confirmed on Tuesday, with the former Tottenham manager leaving by mutual consent.
Sporting Lisbon boss Amorim has been the young, developing manager most admired by Chelsea’s new owners ever since buying the Blues in May 2022.
Sporting have tied Amorim down to another year’s contract and are fully determined to hold onto their 39-year-old boss.
Chelsea have been tracking a clutch of other young coaches though, and believe their due diligence is already well advanced on a number of candidates.
Ipswich boss McKenna is coveted too by Brighton, who need a new coach to replace Roberto De Zerbi.
The 38-year-old former Manchester United assistant has led Ipswich from League One to the Premier League in two seasons, and has built a fine reputation for adventurous, possession-based football.
Hoeness has led Stuttgart to a second-place finish in this season’s Bundesliga, finishing even above the mighty Bayern Munich.
The 42-year-old comes from the finest footballing pedigree, as the son of former Germany star Dieter Hoeness, and nephew of Uli Hoeness, another ex-Germany star and also former Bayern president.
Girona boss Michel and Leicester’s Enzo Maresca will also be under consideration for the Chelsea role, with Brentford’s Thomas Frank another coach of interest too.
Chelsea still want a young, upwardly mobile coach around whom they can build for the long-term, just as they craved when appointing Graham Potter in September 2022.
The Blues’ new owners swear by the model adopted by the Los Angeles Dodgers, in whom they also hold an ownership stake.
The Dodgers’ strategy of investing in developing talents in the long-term has borne big fruit in baseball, but the blueprint is yet to come good at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues’ co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart will take a pivotal role in the search for a new manager, with co-owners Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali and Jose Feliciano making the ultimate call.
