Joe Cole has backed a manager who is not being talked about enough to take the vacant Chelsea job. The Blues are on the lookout for a new boss after sacking Liam Rosenior, and it's clear Andoni Iraola, Cesc Fabregas and Xabi Alonso are the prime targets.
But there are other options for Chelsea, who may yet consider managers like Oliver Glasner or Marco Silva, who are both out of contract with their respective clubs this summer. Glasner is the most competitive of those two options, and former Blue Cole believes the Austrian should be in the conversation.
Joe Cole thinks Oliver Glasner would welcome the Chelsea challenge
"Glasner is a good shout because he’s not in that bracket where he’s top. He’d still look at the Chelsea job and go, 'That’s a step up from Eintracht Frankfurt and Palace'," Cole said on The Dressing Room Podcast.
"But I think if you’re the Chelsea manager, unless they’re going to throw money at it, and I think the money has run out, whatever noises come out and whatever PR comes out, they’re isn’t going to be hundreds of millions spent this summer. It doesn’t make sense financially."
"So they’ve got to find someone who can get a grip. Glasner is a good shout and he would want it.
Don’t even look at the top managers like Luis Enrique, if he’s leaving [Paris Saint-Germain]. I threw Xabi Alonso’s name in because of how well he’s done, but even him…’"
Oliver Glasner has the CV to save Chelsea
Glasner has worked wonders with Palace, not only keeping them steady despite them regularly losing their best players, but winning them their first-ever major trophy and securing European football for the first time in their history.
That all came after he won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt, with Glasner clearly putting together a solid CV. The Austrian has also shown a clear ability to turn around difficult situations having rallied the Eagles back up the table after an awful run this season, and after he had declared his own exit and lost key defender Marc Guehi.
That's impressive leadership and something Chelsea should be looking for in their next manager.
As for Como boss Fabregas, who is being strongly linked, but Cole is not overly convinced.
"Cesc is another one but you’d still be giving it to a manager with inexperience," he added. "But with Cesc, he knows more than anyone what elite football looks like.
"It’s not like Liam [Rosenior], who has come in as a young manager. Enzo Maresca played at Juventus but he was there for a brief period of time. Cesc was one of the best players we’ve seen in the league so I think the Cesc one is interesting because he might be in the right [place]."
In any case, Chelsea are not likely to decide on their next manager just yet, with Calum McFarlane set to lead the team for the rest of the season. The Blues will be patient in deciding their next boss, and they may have to be given many of their reported targets have clubs, at least until the end of the season.
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