are planning to interview at least five candidates to replace – including former Tottenham manager .
The Blues are searching for Potter’s permanent successor at Stamford Bridge after .
Potter spent less than seven months in charge of the Premier League giants and had overseen an underwhelming period in which Chelsea dropped into the bottom half of the Premier League.
The 47-year-old won just 12 of his 31 games in charge of Chelsea despite the club’s new owners spending almost £600m on new signings this season.
Former Brighton midfielder Bruno Saltor has been placed in temporary charge of the side, with Chelsea returning to action on Tuesday night against Liverpool.
The Blues hierarchy are reportedly willing to wait until the end of the season to appoint Chelsea’s new permanent manager and are keen to interview at least five candidates for the job.
According to the , Chelsea sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley – who have been put in charge of the recruitment process – will interview Julian Nagelsmann, who has emerged as the early frontrunner for the job.
The German is one of the most highly-rated managers in Europe despite his and is said to be interested in speaking to Chelsea about the vacancy.
But Chelsea are also expected to interview ex-Spurs boss Pochettino, former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique, Napoli’s Luciano Spalletti and at least one more candidate.
Blues owner Todd Boehly interviewed Pochettino after sacking Champions League-winning manager Thomas Tuchel at the start of the season but ultimately opted to put his faith in Potter instead.
Pochettino is still loved by Tottenham fans following his previous spell in north London and has been .
Chelsea are aware that Tottenham are also looking for a new head coach, while there is a feeling that Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid could enter the manager market at the end of the season.
Chelsea’s owners said they were ‘disappointed’ to sack Potter but former Blues striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink believes they have made the right decision.
Who do you want to replace Graham Potter as Chelsea manager?
‘When you’re at a big club in the Premier League you need to deliver the results, and the results have not been there,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘I was okay with the appointment of Potter, it just didn’t work out.
‘He came in September, had lots of problems because of injuries and he couldn’t really get them going.
‘You know what is going to happen when you don’t win matches, there’s only so long before they’re going to make a change.’
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