Chelsea Set To Appoint Laurent Blanc As Manager

TONY BANKS

Laurent Blanc has moved closer to taking over as the new manager of Chelsea after further talks in the last two days.

One problem that had been holding up former Paris Saint-Germain coach Blanc acceptance of the job had been the appointment of an assistant.

Blanc’s normal No 2, Jean-Louis Gasset, who had worked with the former French international defender ever since he first became a manager at Bordeaux and followed him to the French national national side and then PSG, had decided to stay on as manager at Saint-Etienne.

Now though, Blanc is planning to bring former Marseille and Lille coach Franck Passi with him to Stamford Bridge as his No 2 if negotiations are successful.

Chelsea have turned to Blanc, who is a free agent after leaving PSG in 2016, after refusing to pay the £7 million release fee for Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri, and ex Barcelona coach Luis Enrique pricing himself out of any deal.

Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic is also a potential contender.

The Stamford Bridge club though are still to settle terms with Conte, who they will have to pay some £9m to compensate for the final year of his contract.

Conte looks set to leave the club despite winning the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Manchester United last month.

The Italian has been criticised for his team selections and fallings out with players that ultimately pushed Diego Costa toward the exit door.

John Obi Mikel, who played under Conte before leaving for Tianjin Teda last year, recently hinted his former manager contributed to his exit too.

“Definitely it was the right time [to leave] because when you have a manager who… you have to come in whoever you are – manager or player – there are people who have been there before who made this club what it is today,” Mikel said.

“Chelsea was nowhere near what it is 10, 15 years ago.

“There are players that build and build and build, then it’s all about respect.

“When you don’t get that from a manager who comes in and after five minutes decides to make a change you deal with it, you move on.

“My connection with the club has not changed because of the manager or because of a certain person.

“My relationship with the club remains. I am a blue and I want to remain that way for years and years to come.”