Chelsea’s owners have concerns over Julian Nagelsmann’s age with the 35-year-old one of the names on the shortlist to replace Graham Potter.
The Blues are impressed with his credentials and he ticks a lot of boxes, but co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have concerns that he is only 35.
Nagelsmann was sacked by Bayern Munich last month, but, despite wanting to take a break until the summer, he is willing to listen to what Chelsea have to say.
Nagelsmann worked at RB Leipzig with Chelsea technical director Christopher Vivell, who is a big admirer of the German.
The search for a new head coach is being led by Chelsea sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, with the final decision to be made by the owners.
There is still yet to be any contact from Chelsea over Nagelsmann with Bayern, who are due compensation if they want him.
Bayern chief executive Oliver Kahn told Sky in Germany on Sunday night before Potter was sacked that he does not expect Nagelsmann to take another job this season.
Chelsea owners are impressed with Pochettino
Former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino was a candidate when Thomas Tuchel was sacked in September but Chelsea opted to appoint Potter.
The owners, however, were impressed with the Argentine and he is someone they have a lot of respect for.
The 51-year-old has been out of work since July after he was sacked by Paris Saint-Germain.
Meanwhile, it is difficult to see Chelsea going back to Brighton again in a move for their head coach Roberto De Zerbi.
The Italian is happy at Brighton and is likely to stay on the south coast despite interest from managerless Tottenham.
It is also understood the Chelsea job is considered too big for Eintracht Frankfurt boss Oliver Glasner, who will be in demand this summer after doing a great job with the Bundesliga club having guided them to Europa League glory last season.
And there is no chance of Chelsea appointing Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti now with the Italian club 16 points clear at the top of Serie A and looking forward to a Champions League quarter-final against AC Milan.
What’s the process to appoint Potter’s successor?
“Chelsea feel they’re in a much better place now to identify the right man than they were in September,” Sky Sports News’ chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol said.
“They feel that now they’ve got a proper structure at the club, they’ve got two sporting directors [Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley], they’re going to lead the search for a new manager. They want to make sure they’re thorough, they want to make sure that they speak to different candidates. Ideally they’d like to do this quickly, but they want to make sure that they get the right person and they believe they’ve got the structure in place to do that.”
Could Nagelsmann be the person to replace Potter?
Sky Sports News’ chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
“Nagelsmann is widely considered to be the best young manager in the game. He could be the next Jose Mourinho.
“I think Chelsea have got a chance of getting him. He wants to take a break after losing his job at Bayern Munich.
“All these managers now, they feel like they shouldn’t just jump from one job to another job. They need a break to recharge their batteries and keep options open.
“From what Sky in Germany are telling us, if Chelsea were to get in touch with him and his people, I think he would definitely listen to them because Chelsea is one of the best jobs in world football.
“The London location, being in the Premier League, having such rich owners and an incredible squad to work with – it ticks a lot of boxes for managers, so I think Nagelsmann is gettable if they want him.
“Chelsea just need to pick up the phone and also they need to speak to Bayern Munich as well, because Sky in Germany are telling us that contractually he is still tied to Bayern and they would be involved in the process if he was to take another job.
“What’s interesting is that it could be Bayern Munich vs Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final and then you could have Tuchel versus Nagelsmann. I think Bayern Munich are being quite cute and clever because they don’t want Nagelsmann having all their secrets and using them for Chelsea in a potential semi-final.”
Are there other candidates?
Sky Sports News’ chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
“You’ve got to consider Pochettino. They’ve spoken to him before. I think he was quite close to getting the job before. He is obviously still available.
“The latest information we had from him was that he’s keeping his options open as well. I think he would rather wait until the summer to see what is available. There’s quite a lot of jobs likely to become available with Real Madrid potentially being one destination.
“Other people that are available include Luis Enrique and Zinedine Zidane.
“They’re going to be getting a lot of calls from agents of some of the best managers in the world.
“We’ve been getting calls from agents of managers pushing their clients and their credentials.
“I think they’re in a better place now than they were in September to make sure they pick the right person.
“But what is 100 per cent guaranteed is they won’t be taking a risk. They won’t be appointing an up-and-coming coach, it must be somebody who’s got Champions League experience, a big-name manager with personality, charisma with an aura.
“They’ve got to immediately get the respect of that dressing room because the dressing room at Chelsea historically has been very, very powerful.
“You need to be a Mourinho, a Tuchel, an Antonio Conte or a Carlo Ancelotti to control it and dominate it.”
How to follow Chelsea vs Liverpool live on Sky Sports
Bruno’s first game as interim Chelsea manager will be shown live on Sky Sports as they host Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening in the Premier League.
Coverage begins from 7pm on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event, with kick off at 8pm.
You can also follow all the latest updates in our dedicated live blog on the Sky Sports website and app, with free in-game clips and free match highlights available across Sky Sports’ digital platforms shortly after full-time.