Chelsea: 52 y/o manager has had ‘very strong interview’ at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea could eventually “turn to” Luis Enrique as their next permanent manager at Stamford Bridge, journalist Simon Phillips told GIVEMESPORT.

Enrique has been out of work since leaving his position as the Spanish national team manager, with Phillips tipping him to be a suitable candidate to replace Graham Potter in the long term.

According to a report by The Independent from earlier this week, Enrique had travelled to London to meet the Chelsea hierarchy for talks.

It was claimed that Enrique, who won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2015, had already been on co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali’s shortlist for Potter replacements.

Ultimately, the Chelsea board decided to sanction the return of Frank Lampard, who joins the Blues as interim manager until the end of the season.

However, Phillips recently told GIVEMESPORT that the west Londoners are keen to appoint a new permanent manager in the summer, with a number of candidates catching their eye.

Phillips insisted that former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann is internally viewed as the “priority”, but any approach was knocked back because of the 35-year-old’s desire to take a break from football.

Despite this, Phillips has now suggested that Enrique remains of interest to the two-time European champions, with a summer move not ruled out.

What has Simon Phillips said about Enrique to Chelsea?
Speaking in an interview with GIVEMESPORT, Phillips reiterated Chelsea’s interest in Enrique remained strong.

On the former Barcelona coach, Phillips said: “Enrique was always seen as more of a backup to Nagelsmann and it seems that Chelsea will prefer to wait it out on him at the moment, rather than go straight in with Enrique.

“That doesn’t mean to say that Chelsea won’t turn to Enrique down the line. He’s still a very strong candidate for the Chelsea role on a permanent basis this summer.

“But right now Chelsea have been trying to get Nagelsmann and when they saw they can’t get him, they’ve gone to Lampard. Enrique certainly had a strong interview, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Chelsea do decide to go for him in the summer.”

What’s next for Chelsea?
With the league season and any hopes of finishing inside a European position seemingly gone, Chelsea’s only chance of playing continental football next season will be decided by their performance in the Champions League.

Dealt a horrid draw, the 2012 and 2021 winners will travel to the Spanish capital next week for their quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid.

Chelsea will make the trip to Madrid with plenty of confidence now fans’ favourite Lampard has been ushered back in to help, not least because the capital club were able to beat Real at the Bernabéu last season, albeit after eventually being knocked out on aggregate.

Now looking for revenge, Chelsea will be eyeing up a shock victory against the record Champions League winners, before bringing Real back to Stamford Bridge the following week.