Chelsea News Today: Iraola, Nagelsmann, Maresca and Guardiola’s dig
Expect the Chelsea news cycle to revolve around managers for the foreseeable future. BlueCo were left with no other choice but to sack Liam Rosenior, who they had brought in from sister club Strasbourg just three months ago, after a historically bad run of form. But who will they replace him with?
More importantly, who will be willing to replace him? The Chelsea job is not as attractive as it once was. Yes, they have chopped and changed managers for decades. But back then, it was justified by success. The same cannot be said these days.
On the contrary, it is believed that the club prefers their managers not to have much of a say on things off the training pitch, such as transfer targets. If accurate, that will make the job even less attractive to top names.
The word ‘tweak’ has been used over the past few weeks to suggest that the club are ready to ring in some changes after four years of failures. But it is not tweaking that they need. It is a complete revamp. This is a model that will never work if success is the end goal.
Andoni Iraola reportedly frontrunner
Several outlets have suggested that Andoni Iraola is on Chelsea’s radar. Understandably so, he has done a tremendous job at Bournemouth. And he is also set to be available this summer.
That being said, I am not completely certain that he is the right fit for the Chelsea job. His style of football or philosophy might not fit the squad in place at Stamford Bridge and it has a high chance of unravelling completely. That is a risk the Blues should not take. They cannot afford to.
Julian Nagelsmann out of race
Leading up to Rosenior’s sacking, it was suggested that Julian Nagelsmann was one manager Celtic had on their radar. Of course, he had been a potential candidate for the job back in 2023 as well.
But it has been suggested that Nagelsmann is not interested in the Chelsea job. He is the German national team coach and is believed to have a contract until EURO 2028.
Enzo Maresca won’t return
Another name that has dropped out of any race for the Chelsea job is Enzo Maresca. Of course, a lot of fans would welcome him back with open arms.
But Fabrizio Romano has suggested that Maresca has no interest in a return to Chelsea. He has been heavily rumoured to be Manchester City’s preferred target to replace Pep Guardiola some day.
Pep Guardola appears to take dig at Chelsea
Speaking of Guardiola, the Manchester City manager did not seem particularly impressed with how Chelsea had handled Rosenior’s stint at the club. He appeared to take a dig at how things are run at Stamford Bridge.
Guardiola said (via The Chelsea Chronicle):
“I’m so sorry. I’m pretty sure he’s a manager for that level. Always when this happens, always I think about how lucky, again, I am being in the club where I am. I picked the right club 10 years ago, with an incredible hierarchy, incredible CEOs and Sporting Directors.
“Unbelievable. The consistency, the trust with the people I’m working with here, it’s amazing. I’m so lucky. The decision (of Chelsea) is not my concern…”
Any kind of criticism that the Chelsea management faces right now is pretty justified. They have left the club in a complete mess and it is unclear whether reversing the damage is even possible or not. BlueCo should have always followed the Manchester City model from the beginning but seemed more interested in turning the Blues into Brighton with a bigger budget.
Sourav Mahanty has covered teams like Chelsea, Celtic, Real Madrid, Manchester United, PSG and more over a career that has now lasted a decade.
His work has been featured on Sports Illustrated, Athlon Sports, SB Nation, FanSided, The Sportster and aggregated through Bleacher Report and NewsNow.
Outside of football, he is also interested in basketball, cricket and professional wrestling.
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