Nagelsmann is the perfect manager for Chelsea after a year of chaos

Chelsea co-owners Todd Boeli and Behdad Egbali are looking for their third manager for the 2022-23 season.

They plan to interview five potential candidates including Mauricio Pochettino and Luis Enrique, but one name stands out: Julian Nagelsmann.

Ironically, the German tactician was left jobless and in his place Bayern took on former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel.

While it has been denied that Potter’s sacking from Chelsea was at least partly motivated by Nagelsmann’s sudden and accidental availability, it’s hard to believe.

While Boeli and Egbali are said to be concerned about his age (35), the possibility of hiring an elite coach to lead the long-term project they covet may be too good an opportunity to ignore.

But is he really the right candidate for Chelsea?

Nagelsmann’s reputation had grown in Germany even before his transfer to Bayern, thanks in large part to his attacking style of play.

A follower of Pep Guardiola’s methods, he prefers the 4-2-3-1 formation, which allowed maximum performance from attacking players.

Using a possession-based approach and aggressive counter-pressure on the ball, Nagelsmann had great success taking Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig to the Champions League, reaching the semi-finals with the latter long before the club became a used to.

Chelsea play their best football in a 3-4-3 formation and, unfortunately, Nagelsmann experimented with a back three in his final days at Bayern.

Although he met with more or less success, it was in this formation that the Germans scored a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 – a performance which was seen as a tactic. master class.

If Nagelsmann’s youth seems to worry Chelsea owners, he has skillfully used it to his advantage in the dressing room.

His closeness to the aged players means he is seen more as a big brother than a temperamental coach or father, and he strives to be disarming and appealing.

A number of players, including soon-to-be-signed Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku, have achieved huge success under his guidance.

At Bayern Munich, however, he would have had less success with this approach, occasionally clashing with the club’s older players who are more or less the same age as him – notably Manuel Neuer after Nagelsmann ruthlessly sacked the goalkeeper coach. and his relative. friend Toni Tapalovic.

Chelsea have a much younger and less experienced squad, so they hope to avoid similar problems at Stamford Bridge.

One of the criticisms often leveled at former Chelsea manager Potter was that he was simply too good at commanding respect and sounded like a broken record when confronted by the media.

Nagelsmann is the exact opposite of that. He’s gotten into trouble in the past for his eye-catching press conferences, but he also had Mourinho’s charm.

In fact, these are traits that will appeal to Chelsea fans who never liked Potter’s “good guy”.

Robert Lewandowski was another player who faced Nagelsmann before his final move to Barcelona, ​​and part of the reason was the coach’s training regimen.

As a coach, Nagelsmann, like Tuchel, is seen as a tactician who concocts many complex forms of training. It was said, for example, that Lewandowski’s training under Nagelsmann was too difficult, and he complained about it.

Again, Chelsea’s young squad will likely be more malleable and open to change, allowing such a meticulous tactician as Tuchel to pursue his supposedly unorthodox ideas.

Despite the hype surrounding his arrival, given his unexpected availability, the real reasons for Nagelsmann’s sudden sacking should be reminders to policy makers and Chelsea fans alike.

Bayern were never a conquering force in the era of Pep Guardiola and Jupp Heynckes under Nagelsmann, registering their lowest record after 25 games in more than a decade.

The Munich club lacked stability, and there were also difficulties with obviously weaker opponents – issues that Chelsea themselves struggled with for almost 18 months.

Like his potential predecessor at Stamford Bridge, Nagelsmann has also been accused of failing to motivate his side, in part because of the aforementioned clashes with older players.

Like Chelsea, Nagelsmann is a wounded animal and a fresh start with a young squad – leaving behind a big ego and Bayern experience – could provide him with the perfect platform to get back to what he does best.

He has had success in the past at not-so-big clubs and while the Blues may have some megalomania after their recent lavish spending, their position in the bottom half of the Premier League table shows they are currently far from the level of Bayern.

Chelsea have a complicated history with outspoken and meticulous managers, but these are the kind of characters who seem to get the most out of their players and forge the strongest bonds with the fans. The parallels with Tuchel – perhaps best of all – are undeniable.

While his age may be a concern right now, it also means he could be the long-term solution Boeli and Egbali so clearly covet.