Enzo Maresca joins Kieran McKenna on Chelsea manager list as move for Thomas Tuchel ruled out
Enzo Maresca and Kieran McKenna are among the candidates to be Chelsea's next manager, but it will not be Thomas Tuchel, talkSPORT understands.
Champions League winner Tuchel is keen to return to the Premier League and would consider a return to Stamford Bridge, but that sentiment is not shared by the Blues hierarchy.
4
He won the Champions League with the Blues in 2021 and led them to two FA Cup finals, but was sacked by Todd Boehly and company in September 2022.
This season, the German oversaw Bayern MunichThe team finished third in the Bundesliga, ending a streak of 11 consecutive league wins, and failed to win any trophies.
In February it was announced that the 50-year-old would leave Bayern with one year left on his contract.
Chelsea He wants to hire a younger coach and has no interest in Tuchel despite his availability.
On Wednesday, Maresca emerged as one of the leading candidates for the job, having guided Leicester to promotion from the Championship.
The Blues also admire Ipswich manager McKenna, who also won promotion to the Premier League last season, but talkSPORT understands Brighton are the favorites for his signature, with the Seagulls looking for a replacement for the now deceased boss Roberto De Zerbi.
De Zerbi had two years left on his contract on the south coast, but surprised fans by deciding to shorten his stay there, with club announces its decision one on the eve of the end of the season.
Chelsea's Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have a long-standing interest in the Italian.
However, the Blues would still have to pay compensation to Brighton to bring him in even though he left at the end of the season.
The Seagulls previously received more than £21m in compensation from the Blues when they lured Graham Potter and his staff away from the AMEX in 2022.
4
4
Blues bosses Boehly and Eghbali also admire Newcastle boss Eddie Howe and Stuttgart's Sebastian Hoeness, although the latter is keen to stay in Germany after leading his team to a second-place finish in the Bundesliga this season.
Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim is also on their list but is unlikely to be interested in a move to Stamford Bridge having rejected their overtures last summer.
Sources close to him say it is unlikely he wants the job. Brentford's Thomas Frank also fits Chelsea's criteria.
The Blues confirmed that Pochettino had left the club by mutual agreement in a shocking announcement Tuesday night.
Ending Pochettino's contract a year early will cost Chelsea around £3m and the players are sad to see his departure following a tense two-day performance review with Boehly and Eghbali.
Pochettino wanted an extension to his contract and greater involvement in recruitment, something Boehly and Egbhali were reluctant to accept.
Pochettino is now considering a move to Manchester United. talkSPORT understands, with doubts over Erik ten Hag's future.
