Chelsea are hoping to appoint a new manager by the end of next week and there are a number of names in the frame to replace Mauricio Pochettino. Kieran McKenna has been the most heavily linked, although the Blues will face competition from Brighton & Hove Albion for the Ipswich Town manager’s services.
Chelsea have already made contact with the Tractor Boys over a move for McKenna, but there are sure to be other calls put in for other managers too.
Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca is another who has been linked, while Sebastian Hoeness – who led Stuttgart to second in the Bundesliga this season – is also in the frame.
However, there is another name that has emerged from the pack – a name football.london revealed as a potential soon after Pochettino left the club on Tuesday night. Thomas Frank has done an outstanding job on a shoestring budget at Brentford since joining the club in 2018.
Frank guided the Bees to promotion to the Premier League in his first full season in west London in 2019/20 and has kept them in the top flight ever since. football.london Chelsea writer Bobby Vincent believes Frank could be just what Todd Boehly and the Blues owners are looking for.
Speaking during a Q&A on the football.london website, Vincent said: “Frank was one of the first names I heard immediately after we had confirmation of Pochettino’s departure. It seems he is definitely at least being considered by Chelsea.
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“The job he has done at Brentford is remarkable and he has done that while focusing on data-led analytics – something we know the Chelsea hierarchy are all for. Todd Boehly has said in the past about the importance of data and we only have to cast our mind back a few weeks to one of Pochettino’s press conferences where he kept referring to the importance of data in the modern game.
“So in that regard, Frank would be perfect and make a lot of sense. He is a name I certainly will do some more digging on as Chelsea will not be alone in their interest of the Danish coach.”