{"id":1467,"date":"2026-04-27T18:48:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T18:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=1467"},"modified":"2026-04-27T18:48:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T18:48:21","slug":"chelsea-eye-premier-league-boss-whose-team-are-above-them-in-the-table-in-hunt-for-a-new-manager-who-is-aligned-with-the-clubs-vision-with-former-liverpool-star-also-in-the-frame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=1467","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea eye Premier League boss, whose team are above them in the table, in hunt for a new manager &#8216;who is aligned with the club&#8217;s vision&#8217; &#8211; with former Liverpool star also in the frame"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"js-article-text\" wp_automatic_readability=\"80.432316746923\">\n<p class=\"author-section byline-plain\">By KIERAN GILL, MAIL SPORT REPORTER and BOBBY MANZI <\/p>\n<p class=\"byline-section\"><span class=\"article-timestamp article-timestamp-published\"> <span class=\"article-timestamp-label\">Published:<\/span> <time datetime=\"2026-04-27T14:16:08+0100\">  14:16 BST, 27 April 2026 <\/time> <\/span>  | <span class=\"article-timestamp article-timestamp-updated\"> <span class=\"article-timestamp-label\">Updated:<\/span> <time datetime=\"2026-04-27T17:55:37+0100\">  17:55 BST, 27 April 2026 <\/time> <\/span> <\/p>\n<p> <!-- ad: https:\/\/mads.dailymail.co.uk\/v8\/de\/sport\/football\/article\/other\/para_top.html --> <!-- CWV --><!--(if !IE)><!--> <link href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/static\/mol-fe\/static\/mol-fe-async-bundle\/11.72.1\/articleDefer.css\" media=\"all\" rel=\"stylesheet\" type=\"text\/css\" \/> <!--<!(endif)--> <!--(if IE)>\n<link href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/static\/gunther\/1.17.0\/registration--.css\" media=\"screen\" rel=\"stylesheet\" type=\"text\/css\" \/>\n<!(endif)--> <!--(if !IE)><!--> <link href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/static\/gunther\/18.4.3\/registration--.css\" media=\"all\" rel=\"stylesheet\" type=\"text\/css\" \/> <!--<!(endif)--><!--(if IE)>\n<link href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/static\/gunther\/1.17.0\/all-ie8-9--.css\" media=\"all\" rel=\"stylesheet\" type=\"text\/css\" \/>\n<link href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/static\/gunther\/1.17.0\/all1-ie8-9--.css\" media=\"all\" rel=\"stylesheet\" type=\"text\/css\" \/>\n<!(endif)--> <!--(if !IE)><!--> <link href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/static\/mol-fe\/static\/mol-fe-sync-bundle\/15.83.1\/desktop.css\" media=\"all\" rel=\"stylesheet\" type=\"text\/css\" \/> <link href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/static\/gunther\/18.5.0\/all--.css\" media=\"all\" rel=\"stylesheet\" type=\"text\/css\" \/><link href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/static\/gunther\/18.5.0\/all1--.css\" media=\"all\" rel=\"stylesheet\" type=\"text\/css\" \/> <!--<!(endif)--> <!--(if IE 8)>\n\n<!(endif)--> <!--(if IE 9)>\n\n<!(endif)--> <!--(if IE)>\n\n<!(endif)--> <!--(if !IE)> -->  <!--<!(endif)--><!-- SiteCatalyst code version: H.20.3.\n    Copyright 1997-2009 Omniture, Inc. More info available at\n    http:\/\/www.omniture.com -->  <\/p>\n<p>         <!-- End SiteCatalyst code version: H.20.3. -->  <!--(if IE)>\n\n<!(endif)--> <!--(if !IE)> -->   <!--<!(endif)--><!--(if IE)>\n  \n  <noscript><link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/static\/gunther\/gunther-2159\/video_bundle--.css\"><\/noscript>\n  \n<!(endif)--> <!--(if !IE)> --> <link rel=\"preload\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/static\/videoplayer\/7.16.0\/styles\/mol-fe-videoplayer.min.css\" as=\"style\" onload=\"this.rel=\" stylesheet=\"\" \/> <noscript><link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/static\/videoplayer\/7.16.0\/styles\/mol-fe-videoplayer.min.css\" \/><\/noscript>  <!-- <!(endif)-->   <!-- CWV --><\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"articleBody\" wp_automatic_readability=\"52.765883977901\">\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Andoni Iraola is a candidate under consideration for Chelsea&#8217;s managerial vacancy, according to sources, but pushing for the current Bournemouth boss could spark a head-to-head with Crystal Palace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Iraola, the 43-year-old Spaniard who will leave his current club at the end of this season, is one of several names being reviewed by Chelsea&#8217;s higher-ups after last week&#8217;s sacking of Liam Rosenior.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">However, Palace are believed to have spoken to Iraola&#8217;s camp as they prepare for Oliver Glasner&#8217;s own departure this summer, with sources adding they consider him their top choice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Iraola is not the only name being studied by the Blues. Fulham boss Marco Silva is among the contenders as is former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, who was sacked by Real Madrid\u00a0in January just six months after joining as head coach from Bayer Leverkusen. Both have experience in English football. <\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Chelsea intend to name Rosenior&#8217;s successor once this season has ended. Sources have insisted they are taking a disciplined approach in identifying the right long-term appointment, adding they are targeting a head coach who is aligned with the club&#8217;s vision, can develop their squad and deliver consistent performances and results.<\/p>\n<div class=\"artSplitter mol-img-group\" style=\"style\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10\">\n<div class=\"mol-img\">\n<div class=\"image-wrap\"> <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-e4caccf388df0e70\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/04\/27\/14\/108190613-15768865-image-a-26_1777295625773.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Iraola, who will leave his current club at the end of this season, is one of several names being reviewed by Chelsea\u00bfs higher-ups after last week\u00bfs sacking of Liam Rosenior\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">Iraola, who will leave his current club at the end of this season, is one of several names being reviewed by Chelsea&#8217;s higher-ups after last week&#8217;s sacking of Liam Rosenior<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Calum McFarlane, 38, will act as interim until that process is completed and started by leading Chelsea to a significant 1-0 win over Leeds on Sunday which set up an FA Cup final with Manchester City.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Enzo Fernandez scored the game&#8217;s only goal while wearing the captain&#8217;s armband in what was one of his more impressive performances.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Iraola has impressed while managing in the Premier League. Nearly three years after taking over Bournemouth, he now has them sitting in a European qualification position, and one point above McFarlane&#8217;s Chelsea, who have a week to prepare for playing Nottingham Forest next Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Palace will face Shakhtar Donetsk in their Conference League semi-final first leg this Thursday, then travel to take on Iraola&#8217;s Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium this weekend.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>            <!-- ad: https:\/\/mads.dailymail.co.uk\/v8\/de\/sport\/football\/article\/other\/inread_player.html --><\/p>\n<div class=\"column-content cleared\">\n<div class=\"shareArticles\">\n<h3 class=\"social-links-title\">Share or comment on this article:<br \/>\n                        Chelsea eye Premier League boss, whose team are above them in the table, in hunt for a new manager &#8216;who is aligned with the club&#8217;s vision&#8217; &#8211; with former Liverpool star also in the frame<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <ad-slot position=\"smart_feed\"><\/ad-slot><\/p>\n<p>            <ad-slot position=\"after_article\"><\/ad-slot><\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By KIERAN GILL, MAIL SPORT REPORTER and BOBBY MANZI Published: 14:16 BST, 27 April 2026&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}