Romano reveals who Chelsea see as the ‘perfect’ successor to Potter; reveals three candidates

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano insists Chelsea think former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann “could be perfect” to succeed Graham Potter.

following which saw Unai Emery’s side leapfrog Chelsea and push the west Londoners into the bottom half.

It has been a miserable season for Chelsea with Potter only winning 12 of his 31 matches in charge after replacing Thomas Tuchel in September.

There was some sympathy for Potter with the former Brighton boss having to knit together close to £600m worth of new signings from over the last two transfer windows.

But results have been terrible for a club used to finishing in the top four on a regular basis and the Chelsea hierarchy have now begun their search for a new manager.

And Romano claims that Chelsea are extremely keen on Nagelsmann – who was sacked by Bayern Munich ten days ago – with the German ‘considering the option’ of a move to Stamford Bridge.

Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column: “Chelsea officially announced the decision to sack Graham Potter last night. Bruno Saltor will take care of Chelsea as interim coach. The Chelsea board always supported their manager in difficult moments but things changed yesterday as they held internal conversations over his future.

“Graham Potter’s sacking is not surprising as the situation was very tense after Villa game, and the feeling was that some of the players were not happy with how things were going.

“The Chelsea board decided about it in the night between Saturday and Sunday with communication to Potter around lunch time. They decided to change as they felt this group needed different energy; Potter was no longer considered the right man for the job.

“I think this is a decision we can understand as the feeling was never so positive on this appointment. Chelsea also still feel they can do something in the Champions League, and a change in manager can be the right kind of shock for the squad.

“Julian Nagelsmann is emerging as a strong candidate for the job and I think he’s an excellent, talented coach who could do great job in the Premier League. Chelsea like his vision, fresh ideas, they know the next coach has to be the right one for many years and they feel Julian could be perfect.

“It’s important to remember that Nagelsmann is still under contract at Bayern and there has been no agreement yet on terminating the contract. Still, he is considering the option of going to Chelsea, but it’s not clear yet if he will come straight away or at the end of the season.

“Ruben Amorim and Luis Enrique are also appreciated; no contacts with Mauricio Pochettino at this stage, but he was on the list last September before Chelsea appointed Potter.”