Former Spain boss Luis Enrique is reportedly unlikely to become the next head coach of Chelsea.
Although Frank Lampard was appointed as caretaker manager in the days after Graham Potter's dismissal, Chelsea have always been looking far and wide for a long-term replacement.
Luis Enrique was allegedly the first potential candidate to hold formal discussions with the Blues hierarchy, those discussions seemingly taking place three days after Potter was sacked.
Since then, the ex-Barcelona man has been widely regarded to be one of two clear favourites for the role, the other being Julian Nagelsmann.
However, according to The Telegraph, Luis Enrique is no longer considered as one of the frontrunners to arrive at Stamford Bridge in the summer.
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The report claims that the West Londoners have not placed the 52-year-old among their new shortlist of preferred contenders.
Ruben Amorim - the Sporting Lisbon boss - also falls into the same bracket, with Todd Boehly and co allegedly giving further consideration to the likes of Nagelsmann and Mauricio Pochettino.
While it is claimed that there is no clear contender, more talks are expected to be held between the relevant parties before a decision is made.
Chelsea have more clarity about their expectations and budget for next season now that they have been eliminated from the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.
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The Premier League giants will now not feature in the competition next year, and will realistically only have a chance of Europa Conference League football if they win their remaining seven top-flight matches, a result of trailing seventh spot by 10 points.
In the aftermath of losing to Real Madrid on Tuesday night, Thiago Silva has openly criticised the decision-making process of the club's owners.
Furthermore, legendary forward Didier Drogba has claimed that Chelsea have become 'unrecognisable' since Roman Abramovich was forced to sell the club due to his links with Russia president Vladimir Putin.
Chelsea will have to sell a wide array of players in the summer to fulfil FFP criteria, that need coming after recently announcing losses of £121m.
Darren Plant
