-
Julian Nagelsmann won't be rushed
-
Bruno can hold on for 10 games and is 4/1
-
Pochettino might be off to Real
-
Find our 10/1 Bet Builder tip for Chelsea v Liverpool here
Potter's lack of magic touch
Chelsea have sacked Graham Potter and with that ends their bold experiment.
Potter always faced an uphill task convincing Chelsea's star players he could make the step up from Brighton and, with his job made considerably harder by the ridiculous influx of new players, things just kept getting worse.
He leaves the club with the joint-worst points-per-game record in Chelsea's Premier League history (1.27) and with a record of four wins from his last 19 league games.
They were desperately unlucky, so much so Potter almost seems cursed (Chelsea under-performed against their xG by 7.4 under him, more than any other Premier League club in the same period), but nevertheless there was simply no way back after that run of results.
The early rumours suggest Chelsea will take their time over the next decision, keen not to rush into a decision after so quickly plumping for Potter over Mauricio Pochettino last time.
With that in mind, here's a look at the top candidates to be the next Chelsea manager:
Nagelsmann (4/6) a good fit but will surely wait
Julian Nagelsmann ticks all the boxes for Chelsea. He is a world-class coach with an excellent reputation in European football despite having been sacked by Bayern Munich, winning the Bundesliga last season after performing miracles at RB Leipzig and Hoffenheim.
That alone makes him a better option than Graham Potter.
He would bring top-level attacking style to the club, implementing a brand of positionally-fluid but ruthlessly coached football that focuses on hard pressing, sharp vertical running in the final third, and measured possession at the back.
This certainly fits the profile of player Chelsea have been signing under Todd Boehly, from the elegant defender Benoit Badiashile to the forward-thinking Enzo Fernandez.
But he probably won't be rushed into making a decision, and with the Real Madrid job expected to be up in the summer Nagelsmann will surely wait to see who is offered that role first.
Consequently, and given he is so recently out of work, it makes little sense to assume Nagelsmann would be installed before the end of the season - which would mean Bruno Saltor wins the market.
Bruno (4/1) can cling on despite little hope of success
One of the most surprising aspects of Potter's dismissal was the promotion of first-team coach Bruno Saltor to interim manager, and yet he could easily oversee the final 10 league games - which is enough to pay out on this market.
According to Independent journalist Miguel Delaney, Chelsea are committed to an 'exhaustive search', which probably means a long old wait.
Not that Bruno will necessarily hit the ground running. Chelsea have some tough fixtures remaining, starting at Liverpool on Tuesday night, and while Bruno was a club legend at Brighton he is unlikely to be respected in quite the same way at Chelsea, given how things ended for his boss Potter.
We have no idea what kind of football he will look to play, but suffice to say he will struggle as much as Potter did when it comes to finding a coherent style or consistent first 11.
But with nothing to play for except in the Champions League, and apparently no rush for Chelsea to get a new manager before then, Bruno might just see out the campaign.
Enrique (9/1) is too left-field after Potter
Although a free agent and carrying a big name, Luis Enrique does not make a lot of sense... even if he is on Chelsea's shortlist, according to Delaney.
Put simply, if Chelsea want to promote young players and build a long-term project there is no reason to assume Enrique is the right man.
He was most recently manager of Spain, which did not exactly work out, and prior to that Enrique underachieved at both AS Roma and Celta Vigo.
Of course, his headline achievement was winning the treble with Barcelona, and he deserves great credit for turning them into a more urgent and direct team as the Pep Guardiola idea was going stale, but we have had long enough now to see that this was a one off - and aided dramatically by having Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar.
Pochettino (12/1) supposedly preferred by Real
Mauricio Pochettino almost got the job last time it came up, which surely puts him in a strong position to be offered the role now, although there are strong rumours in Madrid that he is the preferred candidate of Florentino Perez to take over from Carlo Ancelotti.
That is the only reason his odds are so long because, even with the Tottenham post open, Chelsea is a highly attractive club for him.
Like Nagelsmann, Pochettino would bring explosive attacking football built on very meticulous positional patterns, but unlike Nagelsmann he would happily be in it for the long haul, building a steady project in the way Potter was supposed to.
It's easy to imagine Pochettino falling for the younger hungry Chelsea players, too, with Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Mason Mount, and Carney Chukwuemeka potentially forming a core of exciting players for the former Tottenham manager.
But until the Real job goes somewhere else, there is little value in backing Pochettino.