Chelsea have reportedly identified Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso as a potential candidate to become the club's new head coach this summer.
The West Londoners decided to part company with Graham Potter on Sunday after less than seven months in charge, and have since appointed club legend Frank Lampard as caretaker manager until the end of the season.
Lampard returns to Stamford Bridge just over two years after being sacked by Chelsea in January 2021, and has made a swift return to management following his departure from Everton three months ago.
The 44-year-old will be in the dugout for Chelsea's next game away against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, and in the meantime, the club's co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have revealed that they will continue their "thorough and exhaustive process" for a permanent manager.
A statement on the club's official website read: "We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge. Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club.
© Reuters
"As we continue our thorough and exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season. We want to give ourselves every chance of success and Frank has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line.
"We have an important game against Wolves on Saturday and then we will turn our attention to our Champions League quarter-final in Madrid next week. We are all going to give Frank our full backing as we aim to get the best possible outcome from all our remaining games."
A host of names have been linked with the permanent managerial vacancy at Chelsea including Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique, the latter of whom is understood to have travelled to London with his representatives to hold talks with the club's hierarchy.
A recent report claims that former Blues manager Jose Mourinho – now in charge of Roma – and Al-Ittihad head coach Nuno Espirito Santo have been contacted by the Blues, while a potential reunion with Antonio Conte has also been mooted.
According to The Guardian, Leverkusen boss Alonso has emerged as a potential candidate, with Chelsea said to be 'admirers' of the 41-year-old.
© Reuters
However, the report adds that Alonso – who represented Liverpool and Real Madrid in his playing days – is unlikely to be offered the job at such an early stage in his managerial career.
After retiring from football in 2017 and coaching Real Sociedad's B team between 2019 and 2022, Alonso stepped into senior management for the first time at the beginning of October, taking the reins at a struggling Leverkusen outfit positioned at the wrong end of the Bundesliga table.
The Spaniard has since turned the German club's fortunes around, winning 11 of his 18 league games in charge, and has seen his side climb to seventh in the Bundesliga table, just one point behind the European qualification positions.
The likes of Sporting Lisbon's Ruben Amorim, Napoli's Luciano Spalletti, Eintracht Frankfurt's Oliver Glasner and former Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino have also been linked with the permanent managerial vacancy at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea currently sit 11th in the Premier League table, 14 points behind the top four, while they will soon prepare for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie away against Real Madrid next Wednesday.
Oliver Thomas
