Celtic head coach Ange Postecoglou has reportedly emerged as a candidate to take over as Chelsea manager for the 2023-24 season.
The Blues are searching high and low for a permanent successor to Graham Potter, whose short-lived reign was brought to an end when he was sacked earlier this month.
Co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali committed to a long-term project with Potter, but action was taken as the Blues slipped into the bottom half of the Premier League table amid a concerning run of form.
Rather than bring in a new permanent head coach for the final few weeks of the season, Chelsea elected to re-hire Frank Lampard until the end of the campaign as they hold talks with various candidates.
Ex-Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann was regarded as the clear favourite for the Stamford Bridge job, having held positive talks with directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, but the 35-year-old is now understood to have pulled out of the race.
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In the wake of Nagelsmann's surprise withdrawal, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently moved to the top of Chelsea's shortlist, while Luis Enrique and Vincent Kompany are also under consideration.
In addition, the Evening Standard reports that Celtic boss Postecoglou is admired by the powers-that-be at Chelsea and has emerged as an outside candidate for the job.
The 57-year-old's first foray into European management with Celtic has been a wholly successful one, winning the Scottish Premiership and Scottish League Cup in his debut campaign last season.
The Bhoys have already clinched glory in the latter competition this season as well, while they hold a 13-point lead over Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premiership table thanks to a phenomenal campaign of attacking dominance.
Celtic have gleaned 92 points from their 33 games this term - winning 30, drawing two and losing just once - while scoring a staggering 103 goals, an average of over three per game.
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Postecoglou is understood to have signed a rolling 12-month contract at Celtic Park, although his current terms are due to run out at the end of the season, leading to questions over his long-term future.
Leicester City are believed to have taken a liking to the 57-year-old earlier this term, but Celtic are expected to offer their head coach a new long-term contract to try to fend off interest from the Premier League.
Postecoglou took charge of Australia, Melbourne Victory, Brisbane Roar and Yokohama F. Marinos before replacing Neil Lennon as Celtic boss in 2021, but he is not believed to be a priority candidate for Chelsea at this stage.
Since Lampard returned to the dugout, Chelsea have lost their last four games in all tournaments - suffering a quarter-final exit in the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid - but the Englishman's reign is not expected to be cut short.
Having ruled himself out of the running to join the Blues, Nagelsmann is now rumoured to have his eyes on the vacant Tottenham Hotspur role.
Ben Knapton
