Roman Abramovich has a five-man shortlist
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has drawn up a five-man shortlist as he continues to hunt for Jose Mourinho’s long-term successor.
The Russian billionaire sacked Mourinho for the second time of his career last month and handed the reigns over to Guus Hiddink on a temporary basis.
However, with the Dutchman only at the helm until the end of the season, Abramovich is needing to find a long-term replacement ahead of next season.
According to reports, the Russian has five names on his shortlist and will hope to hire one of those at the end of the season once Hiddink departs Stamford Bridge.
Five Names
It’s believed Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone are the two front-runners. Abramovich has always been a fan of the Bayern Munich manager, and with him set to leave the Allianz Arena at the end of the season, he may try and approach him for the job.
However, with Guardiola likely to end up in Manchester, Abramovich turned his attentions to Simeone, who is considering his future away from Atletico Madrid.
With the transfer ban slapped on the Madrid club as well starting in the summer, Simeone may look to jump ship and an offer from Chelsea could be the perfect escape rout for him.
Should the Blues fail in landing either of them, Abramovich will turn to his next three names which are believed to be Jorge Sampaoli, Didier Deschamps and Mauricio Pochettino.
Sampaoli has recently stepped down from his role as Chile head-coach, so he will be available for free, whilst Deschamps is in charge of France and Pochettino is manager of Tottenham Hotspur.
Deschamps could be tempted by a club offer after the summer’s Euros in Paris, whilst Pochettino is believed to be the outside bet due to the outstanding work he has done at White Hart Lane.
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
