Chelsea are said to have decided on their priority target as they prepare for an intriguing summer. The Blues are on the lookout for a manager after sacking Liam Rosenior following a dreadful run of form that has seen them fall out of the European spot altogether.
Callum McFarlane is in temporary charge, and he has already led an FA Cup semi-final win over Leeds United, but the search for a new manager will already have begun, and AFC Bournemouth's Andoni Iraola is said to be at the top of the list.
Chelsea narrow their managerial shortlist to Andoni Iraola as the ideal
We have already seen a number of managers being linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, and it does feel like a good time to be shopping for a new boss. Andoni Iraola, Oliver Glasner and Marco Silva are just three of the names available, and there will be other, bigger-name prospects on the list.
But according to CaughtOffside, Iraola tops the list after pulling off an impressive spell at AFC Bournemouth, following up a very impressive run with Rayo Vallecano on a limited budget.
Cesc Fabregas is also said to be under serious consideration, but he is currently below Iraola in the running.
It's not hard to see why, given Iraola's body of work, and former Premier League defender turned pundit, Ashley Williams, recently praised the Spaniard.
“I think it's really refreshing the way Bournemouth go about their business,” he said on Match of the Day. "I think the manager's a class act. He never moans. He loses his best players. They've had to rebuild the whole defence.
“They lost their special player in Semenyo and he didn't moan at all. They recruit really well and they just get on with it. And they seem to always, even now bringing this manager in, it seems like a manager that suits the style of the team.
“I think that their model of the way they build teams and the way they put the manager in place is really impressive.”
Iraola worked wonders with a limited budget at Rayo, and while he has had more resources at Bournemouth, he is on the verge of leading them to a European campaign, and the Cherries are actually above Chelsea as things stand.
It has not always been plain sailing at Iraola at Bournemouth, either, amid a tough start, and that's a big green flag for Chelsea. Rosenior could not turn things around when the going gets tough, so a manager who clearly can stay calm and turn things around will be towards the top of Chelsea's list.
Add us as a preferred source on Google