Chelsea have narrowed their search for Mauricio Pochettino’s successor to four candidates, with Enzo Maresca, Kieran McKenna and Thomas Frank all on the club’s shortlist.
It is expected that Chelsea will be in a position to arrange a meeting in early June, if not a little earlier, with sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart working around the clock.
Telegraph Sport understands that Chelsea have lost interest in Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness and Girona’s Michel, leaving a fourth, previously unknown candidate in the race to become Chelsea’s next manager.
Chelsea did checks of some kind on all four of your candidatesbut a single favorite has not yet been defined, with future negotiations likely to dictate who will emerge as the favorite.
Although Chelsea are working quickly and are aware that they could soon face some competition from Manchester United, who are expected to sack Erik ten Hag following the FA Cup Finalthe process should take place next week.
Maresca, McKenna and Frank have internal support at Chelsea and it is understood that all three managers would be interested in the prospect of moving to Stamford Bridge.
Director of recruitment and talent Joe Shields worked with Leicester City manager Maresca at Manchester City, during which time he managed a team that included Cole Palmer.
McKenna’s progress has been monitored by the Chelsea squad for some time, while new set-piece specialist Bernardo Cueva has worked closely with Frank at Brentford.
Whoever Chelsea appoint must fit into the club’s structure and the club wants a manager who is possession-based and looks for his team to control games.
Chelsea are also assessing how suitable Pochettino’s successor candidates are for the club’s current squad and future recruitment plans.
Maresca’s release clause in his Leicester contract is said to be worth around £8.5m, more than double McKenna’s at Ipswich Town. Frank signed his latest contract with Brentford in 2022, which added to his previous £3m haul.
United are likely to put McKenna and Frank on their coaching list if, as expected, they sack Ten Hag.
