‘Direct approach’: Fabrizio Romano claims Chelsea has already had ‘positive’ talks with young manager

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Chelsea have already had conversations with Julian Nagelsmann about the vacant managerial position at Stamford Bridge and it was positive, according to Fabrizio Romano.

It is very unlikely that Chelsea will have a new manager in place by the time they face Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, but their search for Graham Potter’s successor has begun.

Chelsea have reportedly drawn up a list of managerial candidates and former Bayern Munich boss Nagelsmann is said to be on top of it.

Romano claims that Chelsea want to avoid the same mistake, so this may take a while, but they have already started talks with Nagelsmann.

“They [the Chelsea board] are really optimistic about the future because they feel Nagelsmann could be the perfect man for the job,” the Italian journalist told The Here We Go Podcast.

“From what I understand, there was already an approach from Chelsea towards Nagelsmann — a direct approach, and that was positive, based on what I heard.

“I’m told it was a positive approach. Nagelsmann is open to discussing with Chelsea about the long-term project, so the conversation is there.

“But Chelsea want to take their time [to consider other options as well]. Let’s see how long it takes for them to be 100 percent sure.

“There will be new contacts between Chelsea and Nagelsmann but no contact yet with Bayern.”

Romano highlighted that despite his dismissal, Nagelsmann is still under contract with the Bundesliga champions until June 2023.

Reports in Germany even suggested that Bayern might demand compensation from Chelsea to agree to a contract termination.

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