Chelsea have not held talks with Ruben Amorim about becoming the club’s new manager as the Blues target a coach with experience of English football.
Amorim has been linked with the vacant position after a decision was made for Mauricio Pochettino to leave the club, with the West Londoners long-term admirers of the Sporting Lisbon head coach.
The 39-year-old led Sporting to a drought-breaking Primeira Liga title in 2020/21, a first in 19 years for the Lisbon side, and has guided the club to a second league title this season.
He was previously linked with Liverpool and West Ham and has been heavily touted with taking charge at Chelsea in recent days. However, Fabrizio Romano has revealed that no talks between Amorim and the Blues have taken place with Chelsea’s focus on a manager with experience of English football.
Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna remains a frontrunner for the role, with Leicester’s Enzo Maresca, Brentford boss Thomas Frank and former Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi also under consideration.
Chelsea made the decision to part company with Pochettino after just one season in charge at Stamford Bridge, due to philosophical differences and a disappointing league campaign. However, there was surprise at the decision following a strong end-of-season run of form from Chelsea that led to a top-six finish and European qualification.
Chelsea’s place in Europe has been downgraded to a Europa Conference League position after Manchester United won the FA Cup at the weekend to earn a place in the Europa League.
