Chelsea have stepped up their search for a new manager following Mauricio Pochettino’s departure, but according to reports there’s currently an unknown candidate in the running for the job.
The Blues announced Pochettino’s departure on Tuesday evening following an end of season review with the club’s hierarchy, which resulted in them parting ways with the Argentine after just one season in charge.
Chelsea have really stepped up their search for a new manager and have identified Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna as their preferred candidate, but they face competition from Brighton for the 38-year-old.
Unknown candidate in the running for Chelsea job
McKenna is viewed as one of the brightest young coaches in English football following his success at Ipswich which has seen him achieve back to back promotions from League One to the Premier League.
Chelsea also hold Thomas Frank and Enzo Maresca in high regard, but it appears if they can agree a deal the club want to appoint McKenna.
However, The Telegraph report that there’s currently an unknown “high profile” fourth candidate in the running alongside Frank, Maresca and McKenna.
The report also adds the Blues have dropped their interest in Girona’s Michel and Sebastian Hoeness of Stuttgart, who was viewed as unlikely to be willing to join Chelsea.
The club are believed to be assessing how suited potential candidates are to the current squad and any future recruitment plans.
It’s anyone’s guess at this point who the unknown candidate might be and there was a similar situation last summer when now Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou was revealed as the mystery candidate on Chelsea’s shortlist.
One thing Chelsea do need to do is move quickly if they are to appoint who they want with several other club’s likely to be interested in managers they are looking at.