Sky Sports man drops new Chelsea manager bombshell with UCL miss set to see £100m star sold | OneFootball

Chelsea do not currently have any new manager under consideration to replace Liam Rosenior and have not even compiled a shortlist of candidates yet, according to Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol, though TEAMtalk understands that they do have five names in the frame, including a surprise Saudi Arabian-based option.

The Blues decided to sack Rosenior on Wednesday after just 106 days at the helm. Having initially appointed the 41-year-old in January on a six-and-a-half-year deal, BlueCo insisted they wanted to give Rosenior time.

But after his Chelsea players turned against him off the back of a five-game losing streak that had seen them fail to score a single goal – the first time that had happened since 1912 – and with the club seeing Champions League football slip away, the club felt they had little choice.

Shortly before his axing was announced, our correspondent Graeme Bailey lifted the lid on the ‘irreparable rift’ between the players and Rosenior that had rapidly led to his dismissal.

And with an FA Cup semi-final against Leeds looming on the horizon, the Blues board felt they would have a better chance to win without Rosenior at the helm, with the 41-year-old temporarily replaced by Calum McFarlane.

All the focus now comes on who Chelsea opt for next.

But according to Sky Sports’ chief news reporter Solhekol, Chelsea do not have any sort of shortlist in place and are yet to decide on their top pick for the position.

Speaking on Thursday night, he said: “When it comes to making a permanent appointment, Chelsea are going to take their time. There is no shortlist and there is no No 1 candidate at the moment.

“They are obviously going to be linked with a lot of names, and many agents will be in touch. In order to not make the mistakes of the past, they are likely to target a manager with proven Premier League experience and/or who has a pedigree of success at a high level.

“Managers such as Andoni Iraola, Oliver Glasner and Xabi Alonso are available this summer. Marco Silva could also leave Fulham next month, while Cesc Fabregas, who is currently at Como, would be a popular appointment, although he is someone who could end up at Arsenal one day in the future.”

However, in a bleak warning to fans, Solhekol has explained why missing out on the Champions League will create an £80m financial vacuum at Stamford Bridge, and the club would likely sell prized midfielder Enzo Fernandez to compensate for that hit.

“The new manager will almost certainly not have Champions League football, and that could affect the future of players at the club, especially Fernandez, who could be sold if Chelsea receive an offer of more than £100m,” he warned.

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Next Chelsea manager: Five names in the frame – Sources

Whoever Chelsea land on next, Solhekol fears they won’t land a big manager and will instead go down the head coach route.

“In the past, Chelsea have held talks and interviewed a long list of high-profile managers, including Luis Enrique, Hansi Flick, Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Frank and Roberto De Zerbi,” he explained, before adding: “If you look at the great Chelsea managers and the great managers at other clubs as well. Somebody like Mourinho, Tuchel, Klopp, Guardiola, or Alex Ferguson, they have a lot of control. They are not yes men.

“They don’t spend their lives sitting around a table having meetings with lots of different heads of department and different sporting directors. They are all powerful. They call the shots. And that’s not the way Chelsea is set up. The head coach is the head coach.

“Yes, he has an input into other areas, but primarily his job is to coach the first team.

“So how many managers are out there who have the aura and the personality, the experience, the proven track record of success that Chelsea are looking for, who are willing to fit into that structure? I think that is the problem Chelsea have got.

“Do you just change the manager or do you change the structure as well.”

Despite that, TEAMtalk understands that the Blues do have an early shortlist and our correspondent, Bailey, reports that groundwork has already been carried out on highly-rated German coach Matthias Jaissle.

The young German, who boasts an impressive 65.98% win percentage record from his time in Saudi Arabia and with previous club RB Salzburg, is open to a return to mainland Europe. Having been compared to Julian Nagelsmann – the man we understand who is their ‘dream appointment’ – he is someone they are currently looking at closely.

However, as we understand, he is far from the only name in the frame, with four other options also under consideration at Stamford Bridge, including two current Premier League managers.