Chelsea has stepped up its search for a new manager after meeting with Andoni Iraola, the Bournemouth head coach, as the club looks to secure a stable project as soon as possible after the departures of Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior.
The meeting is part of a wider push by Chelsea to settle on a long-term direction, with Iraola among the names under consideration and Xabi Alonso emerging as the preferred option. BlueCo views Alonso as the leading choice, while both he and Iraola are handled by the IDUB agency.
Iraola’s name has gained force because of the season he has built at Bournemouth, where the club is on the brink of a historic qualification for European competitions. That run has also kept him in the conversation for other Premier League jobs, including Chelsea and, earlier, Crystal Palace.
Palace contacted Iraola on two occasions in its search for a replacement for Oliver Glasner, but he turned them down both times. Chelsea’s interest, meanwhile, comes as the club continues to look for a manager who can give its next project more certainty than the last two appointments.
For now, Iraola is trying to keep the focus on the final stretch of the season. He has said he is “no tiene prisa,” will not talk about his future at this time, and wants to finish the campaign with a “tangible” objective for his players and supporters.
That makes the timing awkward for Chelsea, which wants a decision quickly but is also weighing several high-profile alternatives. The club is said to be willing to adapt its internal working model if it appoints a coach with greater authority over sporting decisions, a sign that its next hire may come with more influence than some recent managers.
The immediate question is whether Chelsea can turn interest into agreement before Bournemouth’s season reaches its most valuable point. Iraola has not invited the noise, but his progress in the south coast job has made him hard to ignore.
