Chelsea are ready to rival Arsenal and Manchester United in the race for Atalanta's sought-after striker Rasmus Hojlund - despite the fact that they currently have no head coach after sacking Graham Potter on Sunday.
A host of top European clubs are currently monitoring the progress of Hojlund, who only joined his current club last summer. But the 20-year-old has already made a major impression in Serie A this season and has been likened to Manchester City goal-machine Erling Haaland, who has taken the Premier League by storm since linking up with the champions.
The Gunners and Manchester United have already been linked with the striker ahead of a potential summer move - and now Chelsea are also making moves behind the scenes as they plot their own swoop for the Denmark international.
According to The Mail, the Blues hosted Atalanta chairman Antonio Percassi during their Champions League Round of 16 triumph over Borussia Dortmund last month and Hojlund's availability was discussed. And Chelsea could still press ahead with their plans to acquire the £60million-rated star without a head coach.
The club announced that Potter had been relieved of his duties after just seven months at the helm in a brief statement on Sunday; less than 24 hours after a disappointing 2-0 home defeat against Aston Villa.
It has been confirmed that Bruno Saltor, who worked with Potter at Brighton before following him to Stamford Bridge, will oversee the final 10 games of the season while the club source Potter's permanent successor.
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And the Spaniard admitted that it had been a "difficult" few hours for everybody at the club following Potter's sacking. Speaking on Monday afternoon, the Brighton icon told the media: "I just spoke to Graham five minutes ago. Obviously, it has been a difficult 24 hours for all of us, the staff and families and now we have to live with the situation."
"I've not seen the players yet, we have an afternoon session plan. We are all responsible and need to keep focused on tomorrow's game," he added. "I've spoken to them [the owners], they have been supportive. I am focused on tomorrow's game. They [the players] will be sad because they know the level of human being Graham is."
"It's been difficult at every single level," Bruno also said. "You have to deal with the press conference, the players, the relationship with Graham and Billy, how it affects their family. A really difficult 12 hours."
A host of names, including Julian Nagelsmann, Mauricio Pochettino and Luis Enrique, have already been touted to succeed Potter, with The Sun now claiming that Enrique has been identified by the Stamford Bridge hierarchy as their top target.
