Jurgen Klopp has not returned as manager since leaving Liverpool at the end of the 2023/24 season, but Chelsea have been encouraged to consider a move for the German.
Chelsea are being encouraged to try Jurgen Klopp’s surprise signing as they await the appointment of Enzo Maresca’s replacement. Maresca’s departure from Chelsea was confirmed on New Year’s Day, with Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior becoming the early favorite to replace him.
However, former Blues star Joe Cole has urged the club to put their tentacles ahead of Klopp. The former Liverpool manager has been away from management since leaving Anfield at the end of the 2023/24 season and has spent the past 12 months as Red Bull’s global head of football.
Asked to name Chelsea’s ideal candidate, Cole told Paddy Power: “I know it’s a mental thing, but I know Jurgen Klopp probably won’t even consider it because it’s Chelsea and he’s Liverpool. But you never know.”
“If your main objective as a football club is to win trophies and you have the money, you will go and talk to the top, top players,” he added. “I know it seems like you’re killing two birds with one stone, but if you don’t have that mindset, you’re always going to rely on developing the next best manager. I thought they were doing that with Enzo Maresca.”
But he also spoke highly of Rosenior, saying: “I’ve known Liam for a long time. He had a trial as a young player at West Ham and had a very good career in the Premier League. His obsession with football is a good fit given the path Chelsea have had with the last few managers. He’s young and has something to prove.”
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As Cole suggests, convincing Klopp, one of Liverpool’s Premier League rivals, to return to the management team will be a tall order and, indeed, if the German were to do so, it would go against the comments he made when he confirmed he would leave Liverpool in January 2024.
“What I know for sure is that I will never manage 100 per cent of any club other than Liverpool in England. That’s not possible,” he said. “My love for this club, my respect for the people is too great, but I couldn’t do it.
“I never thought about it for a second. There’s no chance. This is part of my life, we’re part of a family, I feel like this is home. There’s no chance.”
He recently reiterated that position in an interview with CEO Diary. “I said I would never coach another team in England, so if I were to come back it would be Liverpool, so in theory it’s possible,” he said.
“I don’t know exactly[what is going to pull me back]. I love what I’m doing right now.
“I don’t miss coaching. I don’t. I coach, but it’s just different. It’s not the players.”
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