
Julian
Nagelsmann wants to manage in the Premier League and sees it as his natural
next destination but will not be rushing into a decision over his future
amid strong interest from Chelsea and Tottenham.
The 35-year-old wants a short period to reset after being sacked by Bayern
Munich and his preference is to oversee a full pre-season when taking on a
new job.
However, his agency, Sports360, will be listening to proposals and have
already fielded sounding-out calls from Chelsea, who sacked Graham Potter on
Sunday, and Spurs.
More formal contact is set to be made, and an agreement being reached in the
coming weeks that only becomes effective next season has not been ruled out.
It is understood the complex situation surrounding managing director of
football Fabio Paratici has put Tottenham on the back foot, with Chelsea
having an edge as things stand.
No potential suitors have yet made contact with Bayern over compensation,
something only expected to happen when Nagelsmann has settled on his new
employers.
Sky Sports News has been told the increasing demand for the German's
services offers a healthy negotiating position, as well as the time and
space to make a choice.
Representatives from Sports360 know the recruitment decision-makers at both
Chelsea and Tottenham well through player trading and personal
relationships.
Nagelsmann worked with Chelsea's sporting director Laurence Stewart and
technical director Christopher Vivell at RB Leipzig. They believe his
history of developing young players, as well as his European experience and
working with big names, marks him out as a fit for Chelsea's squad.
The club engaged with his agency over the sale of another one of their
clients, Timo Werner.
Chelsea are set to assess up to seven candidates, including Nagelsmann, as
they undergo what they insist will be an "exhaustive process". Mauricio
Pochettino, Luis Enrique, Ruben Amorim, Oliver Glasner and Luciano Spalletti
are among those under discussion internally.
However, Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi is not believed to on the list.
Chelsea have not set themselves a deadline by which to make the appointment.
Meanwhile, Daniel Levy, the Tottenham chairman, has also liaised with
Nagelsmann's camp previously over players - and the manager himself.
He twice unsuccessfully tried to appoint the Bundesliga winner.
Nagelsmann started doing interviews in English four years ago to prepare for
a Premier League job.
Having turned down Real Madrid in the summer of 2018 before his 31st
birthday, Nagelsmann said: "The main thing is to make the right steps, not
the biggest steps."
He also revealed he wants to be fully fluent in Spanish before accepting a
job in LaLiga.
When asked why he chose Leipzig instead of Real, Nagelsmann responded: "They
really fought to get me. It's important as a manager that you feel a club
believes in you and your methods.
"A lot of clubs in the summer period phoned me and said 'perhaps we'd like
to have you.' There was no perhaps with Leipzig. I am a young manager and it
appealed to me to work at a club where the structure is clear, where there
are not 20 guys all with an opinion that takes you in different directions.
"I can decide and things happen quickly because the vision is the same
across the club."
Additional reporting by Sky Sports News' Lyall Thomas
Could Nagelsmann be the person to replace
Potter?
Sky Sports News' chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
"Nagelsmann is widely considered to be the best young manager in the game.
He could be the next Jose Mourinho.
"I think Chelsea have got a chance of getting him. He wants to take a break
after losing his job at Bayern Munich.
"All these managers now, they feel like they shouldn't just jump from one
job to another job. They need a break to recharge their batteries and keep
options open.
"From what Sky in Germany are telling us, if Chelsea were to get in touch
with him and his people, I think he would definitely listen to them because
Chelsea is one of the best jobs in world football.
"The London location, being in the Premier League, having such rich owners
and an incredible squad to work with - it ticks a lot of boxes for managers,
so I think Nagelsmann is gettable if they want him.
"Chelsea just need to pick up the phone and also they need to speak to
Bayern Munich as well, because Sky in Germany are telling us that
contractually he is still tied to Bayern and they would be involved in the
process if he was to take another job.
"What's interesting is that it could be Bayern Munich vs Chelsea in the
Champions League semi-final and then you could have Tuchel versus
Nagelsmann. I think Bayern Munich are being quite cute and clever because
they don't want Nagelsmann having all their secrets and using them for
Chelsea in a potential semi-final."
Are there other candidates?
Sky Sports News' chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
"You've got to consider Pochettino. They've spoken to him before. I think he
was quite close to getting the job before. He is obviously still available.
"The latest information we had from him was that he's keeping his options
open as well. I think he would rather wait until the summer to see what is
available. There's quite a lot of jobs likely to become available with Real
Madrid potentially being one destination.
"Other people that are available include Luis Enrique and Zinedine Zidane.
"They're going to be getting a lot of calls from agents of some of the best
managers in the world.
"We've been getting calls from agents of managers pushing their clients and
their credentials.
"I think they're in a better place now than they were in September to make
sure they pick the right person.
"But what is 100 per cent guaranteed is they won't be taking a risk. They
won't be appointing an up-and-coming coach, it must be somebody who's got
Champions League experience, a big-name manager with personality, charisma
with an aura.
"They've got to immediately get the respect of that dressing room because
the dressing room at Chelsea historically has been very, very powerful.
"You need to be a Mourinho, a Tuchel, an Antonio Conte or a Carlo Ancelotti
to control it and dominate it."
Carragher: Chelsea fans reared on
short-termism
Jamie Carragher believes Potter was destined to fail at Chelsea owing to the
club's inherent culture of winning trophies and the demand for instant
success.
Speaking on Monday Night Football, Carragher said it was the right decision
to sack him.
"Chelsea, alongside Real Madrid, are two of the most ruthless clubs in terms
of how they deal with managers," Carragher told Sky Sports.
"It's OK Todd Boehly coming in and saying they are going to do it
differently to Roman Abramovich, but I don't care what he says: those
supporters, for the last 20 years, have been brought up on a culture of
winning trophies, changing managers and getting Champions League winning
managers coming every two or three years."
Nev: Pochettino would be right appointment
Speaking on Monday Night Football, Gary Neville feels Mauricio Pochettino -
not Nagelsmann - is the right man to take charge next on a permanent basis
at Stamford Bridge.
"Based on what Boehly has said, Chelsea have done their spending for the
next three years - apart from signing a centre forward," Neville told Sky
Sports.
"If they appoint Zidane, Enrique or Diego Simeone, they're going to want to
have another £300m as they won't like some of the players they've previously
signed.
"They've got to appoint a manager who is going to inherit and like the squad
that they've got. - a lot of them are young - and I think that man is
Mauricio Pochettino."
Chelsea's remaining fixtures
April 4: Liverpool (H) - Premier League, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports
April 8: Wolves (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
April 12: Real Madrid (A), Champions League quarter-final, kick-off 8pm
April 15: Brighton (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
April 18: Real Madrid (H), Champions League quarter-final, kick-off 8pm
April 26: Brentford (H) - Premier League, kick-off 7.45pm
April 29: Arsenal (A) - Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports
May 6: Bournemouth (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 13: Nottingham Forest (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 20: Manchester City (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 28: Newcastle (H) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm
TBA: Man Utd (A) - Premier League