Chelsea are looking at ‘German-speaking’ coaches to replace Frank Lampard as the pressure continues to ramp up on the Blues boss.
A limp sixth defeat of the season at Leicester on Tuesday night left Chelsea in eighth place, despite a summer spend of £230m that was expected to see them challenge for the title.
And the club’s hierarchy are looking into the possibility of hiring a coach fluent in German to get the best out of their Bundesliga acquisitions.
Kai Havertz and Timo Werner have both struggled to impose themselves in the Premier League since big-money moves from the Bundesliga in the summer.
Werner joined from RB Leipzig for £53m, while Havertz cost the Stamford Bridge outfit £89m when joining from Bayer Leverkusen.
As previously reported by Sportsmail, Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl is being considered by the Chelsea board, while Ralf Ragnick and Julian Naglesmann are also admired.
And the coaching ethic of those schooled in the Bundesliga is also a massive draw for the Blues.
As evidenced with Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, there is a tendency for German-reared managers to avoid run-ins with club hierarchies due to the structure at most Bundesliga clubs – that include directors of football.
With Chelsea embracing similar methods, it adds to the desire at Stamford Bridge to bring in a less political character, according to the Athletic. Indeed, they have had their hands burnt in recent years with in-fighting during the reigns of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.
On Tuesday night, first-half goals from Wilfred Ndidi and James Maddison at the King Power Stadium lifted Leicester to the top of the Premier League — nine points clear of Lampard’s men, who are now five points adrift of the Champions League places.
Luck was not on Chelsea’s side: they were awarded a penalty with the score at 1-0, only for the spot-kick to be overturned after VAR ruled Jonny Evans fouled Christian Pulisic outside the box. And in the closing moments, substitute Werner‘s close-range volley was ruled out for a marginal offside.
But with Roman Abramovich, who spent £230m in the summer on the likes of Havertz, Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell, rarely an owner to show patience, Lampard backed himself to handle the heat.
He said: ‘I am good at handling pressure. I took this job knowing there would be difficult times as it’s not a club ready to compete.
‘We had a transfer ban, we had young players, we had new players. I understand the expectations of this club, whether I think it’s right or wrong. We are not in the same position Chelsea were when we were winning titles. The consistency, the robustness, the level of experience of winning Premier Leagues is not the same.
‘I can’t control (my future). I can’t get caught up in the reaction otherwise I would be sitting here all day concerned about it. In the game we were beaten by the better team and we had ‘sleeping’ moments.
‘You have to do the basics, dig in. You have to run, sprint and cover ground and too many of our players didn’t do that. We were beaten by a better team.
‘They were sharper, they ran more. If you relax when you’re playing well as we were a month go, this game kicks you up the backside and that’s what happened tonight.’
He added: ”It intensified for me a while ago. Expectations at this club are high. It is not my decision. That (pressure of the sack) is something that will always be there. Some things are always beyond your control. That I can’t answer.’