Joe Cole says Premier League manager is ‘good shout’ for Chelsea job

Joe Cole has put forward Oliver Glasner’s name as a ‘good shout’ to manage Chelsea – and believes the Crystal Palace boss would jump at the chance to take charge this summer.

Chelsea find themselves without a permanent head coach once again following Liam Rosenior’s sacking, with Calum McFarlane taking over the reins on a temporary basis for the second time in the space of just four months.

Results had nosedived towards the end of Rosenior’s reign and a crushing 3-0 defeat away to Brighton – the club’s fifth loss in as many games – proved the final straw for Stamford Bridge bosses.

After picking up the pieces, McFarlane steered to a 1-0 victory over Leeds in Sunday’s gritty FA Cup semi-final at Wembley – and the 40-year-old is expected to lead the side out again in this year’s showpiece event against Manchester City on May 16.

Chelsea’s hierarchy are eager to secure a deal for Rosenior’s full-time replacement sooner rather than later, though, and Glasner – who will leave Crystal Palace this summer – is one of a number of candidates reportedly being considered by the Blues.

The likes of Andoni Iraola, Felipe Luis and Cesc Fabregas have also been heavily linked in recent days, though the latter appeared to have ruled himself out the running after underlining his commitment to Como last Friday.

‘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”,’ ex-Chelsea winger 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…’

According to Cole, Fabregas would be another ‘interesting’ option should a deal for the Spaniard become realistic down the line.

‘Cesc is another one but you’d still be giving it to a manager with inexperience. But with Cesc, he knows more than anyone what elite football looks like,’ he added.

‘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 his column for Paddy Power this week, Cole encouraged Frank Lampard to ‘stay away’ from the idea of a return for a third spell as manager at Stamford Bridge, despite his success with Coventry City.

‘Frank should stay away from it [the Chelsea job]. The temptation for Frank, because he loves the club, would be to come back and give it another whirl,’ the three-time Premier League winner wrote.

‘He’s done a fantastic job at Coventry. Nobody would have backed Coventry for promotion at the start of the season.’

Chelsea will look to build on their FA Cup semi-final performance against Leeds when they return to Premier League action at home to Nottingham Forest next Monday.

The Blues’ five-game losing streak leaves the club languishing down in eighth place in the table, but victory over Forest could see them leapfrog Bournemouth and Brighton into sixth.

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