Chelsea have added Eintracht Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner to their shortlist at Stamford Bridge, according to reports.
What's the latest manager news at Chelsea?
Todd Boehly gave Graham Potter his marching orders over the weekend, meaning that he’s now on the lookout for another new man in the dugout, and it initially seemed like he was in no rush, with Bruno Saltor taking the role of interim head coach, but reports have since suggested that the owner would like someone in place as soon as possible.
Fabrizio Romano has reported that Bayern Munich’s former boss, Julian Nagelsmann, is the leading candidate having been “approached” for the role, but the likes of Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim are also “appreciated”. The Mirror has since name-checked Fulham’s Marco Silva as a potential left-field appointment, with the Portuguese believed to have admirers on the board in SW6.
Glasner is currently having a successful season in the Bundesliga with Frankfurt, who are sixth in the table, and with his deal at the Deutsche Bank Park set to run out next summer, he has been identified as an ideal candidate at Stamford Bridge.
According to German outlet Bild (via Sport Witness), Chelsea have placed Glasner “on their shortlist”. Tottenham Hotspur have also been credited with an interest in the 48-year-old, who is clearly attracting plenty of attention from the Premier League. The Blues and Spurs are additionally both “keen” on Nagelsmann, but it’s stated that he’s not quite ready to jump back into a new job so soon after his departure from the Allianz Arena.
Meanwhile, Boehly only has “three or four” names on his wishlist at this moment in time, with two of those being Glasner and Nagelsmann.
Would Glasner be a good fit for Chelsea?
Glasner has been described as a “meticulous” coach by Wolfsburg manager Niko Kovac, and despite winning two trophies during his time at Frankfurt, we don't feel he wouldn’t be the right candidate for Chelsea.
The Austrian, whose preferred formation is a 3-4-2-1 setup, has won just 35 of his 86 games in Germany, drawing 26 and losing 25, whilst averaging 1.52 points per match (via Transfermarkt), which isn’t a good enough return for a club like his apparent admirers, who need to be competing week-in, week-out.
The Blues would be better off making a move for someone with the profile of Nagelsmann, who has proven that he can be successful at the very highest level rather than plucking targets out of thin air just to rush through an appointment.