Chelsea add new name to managerial shortlist, make 'preliminary inquiries' — report

There's a new manager linked to the possibly soon-to-be vacant Chelsea manager role and this time it's current AS Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim. If one is to believe Duncan Castles, the club have even gone as far as already making “preliminary inquiries” in their search for a new man at the helm. That part matches recent dispatches from other sources about Granovskaia holding preliminary talks with a few potential candidates.

Whenever not overtly pushing a pro-Mourinho agenda, Duncan Castles tends to be a fairly accurate and reliable source, often possessing well-sourced information one wouldn't normally expect of him. Jardim also makes sense as a candidate, in terms of his age (relatively young at 43), his style (attacking), and his reputation for being able to work within budgets and build teams from the youthful ground up.

The Venezuela-born Portuguese has been at AS Monaco — a club Chelsea have done plenty of business with recently — since the start of the 2014-15 season and has become a truly beloved figure among their supporters. Out of 213 total games in all competitions, Jardim has collected an average of 1.93 points per game (122-46-45), a very reasonable win percentage for someone who's mostly been working with younger, inexperienced players (and has been developing them extremely well in the process), albeit in a relative “easier” league. Before his French gig, he had mostly coached in Portugal, with the exception of a small stint in Greece, and had already done some great work there, too.

Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images

Jardim’s crowning achievement was winning an unlikely title with Monaco last season and reaching the Champions League semifinals. Despite the club selling several of his most talented players, they’re on course to finish a solid second behind ultra-rich Neymar FC, to whom they just lost the French cup final as well unfortunately.

The following Twitter thread makes a good case for Jardim as Chelsea boss, in case anyone needs a bit of convincing.

Whether this newest link to Chelsea proves to have any substance or is just another one of the 'they may need a new manager, let's link them to anybody' category remains to be seen. The only thing that’s certain is that tide of managerial rumours has only just begun and won't be resolved until Conte either signs a new contract or he leaves/is sacked.