Chelsea are reportedly keen to appoint a new manager before they lock horns with Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals next week.
The Blues are on the lookout for a new boss after announcing on Sunday night that they have parted company with head coach Graham Potter after less than seven months in charge.
Potter successfully guided Chelsea into the Champions League last eight, with the Blues coming from behind to win 2-1 on aggregate against Borussia Dortmund in the last 16.
However, Chelsea's poor form in the Premier League has ultimately cost Potter his job, with the 47-year-old claiming just four wins in his last 17 top-flight matches.
Potter's final game in charge was a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa last weekend, and he has left the club sitting 11th in the Premier League table, 12 points behind the top four.
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Bruno Saltor has been placed in interim charge for Chelsea's Premier League clash with Liverpool on Tuesday night, but the Spaniard may not keep his role in the dugout for the rest of the season.
According to The Times, Chelsea ideally want to appoint a new manager before they travel to the Santiago Bernabeu for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid on April 12.
At the time of writing, the West Londoners are therefore left with just over a week to narrow down their search for a successor to Potter, with Tuesday's clash against Liverpool and Saturday's trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers followed by the visit to Madrid.
Chelsea are reportedly hoping to hold talks with at least five managers over their vacancy, with Julian Nagelsmann widely regarded as the current frontrunner to replace Potter following his surprise sacking from Bayern Munich at the end of last month.
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However, Chelsea are understood to have concerns over the 35-year-old's age, while the German would allegedly prefer to wait until the summer to decide his next career move.
Former Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino – who has been out of work since being sacked by the French giants in July last year – has also been tipped to take over at Chelsea, while a return to Tottenham Hotspur has also been mooted for the Argentine.
A recent report claims that Fulham's Marco Silva is another name on Chelsea's managerial shortlist and has impressed the club's hierarchy after helping the Cottagers follow up their Championship title-winning campaign last season with a push for European qualification in the Premier League this term.
Sporting Lisbon's Ruben Amorim, Napoli's Luciano Spalletti, Eintracht Frankfurt's Oliver Glasner, Brighton & Hove Albion's Roberto De Zerbi and former Spain boss Luis Enrique have also been linked with the Chelsea job, with the latter recently expressing his desire to manage in the Premier League.
Oliver Thomas
