Jurgen Klopp emerges as Chelsea 'dream' managerial candidate - but Blues legend wary of 'mental' wish

Klopp is currently working as RB Leipzig's sporting director and Cole has claimed that the German tactician would be the ideal appointment for the west London club. Liam Rosenior appears to be the current frontrunner, as he works at the Blues' sister club, Strasbourg, which is also owned by BlueCo. Nevertheless, Cole thinks Klopp should be at the top of the list, although he concedes that his pitch may well be viewed as "mental". 

Cole was speaking exclusively to Paddy Power: "I know it’s a mental one but Jurgen Klopp, I know he probably won’t even consider it because it’s Chelsea and he’s Liverpool, but you just never know. If your main aim as a football club is to win trophies and you have the money, you go and speak to the top, top boys. I know it seems like it’s pie in the sky, but if you don’t have that mindset then you’re always banking on developing the next best manager, which they thought they were doing with Enzo Maresca."

Cole also believes that Chelsea acted too quickly when it came to relieving Maresca of his duties, with the Italian having won the Conference League and the Club World Cup last season. 

He said: "I’m never surprised. Managers don’t get a fair crack of the whip across the board in football. There’s so much infrastructure around a manager now, how much power does he actually have? He picks the team on the weekend and in a lot of cases I don’t even think that’s completely down to them. I think there’s pressure put on managers to pick certain players, based off the managers I’ve spoken to that are in and out of jobs. I don’t think he was given enough time. He’d done a good job in the circumstances and the club’s statement on his departure reflected that."

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Cole and Rosenior actually know each other, with their professional relationship going back to their time at West Ham, and he believes he would "fit the bill". 

He added: "I’ve known Liam a long time, he was on trial as a young player at West Ham and had a very good career in the Premier League. Obsessive about football, fits the bill in terms of where Chelsea have gone with their last few managers, young and something to prove. Circumstances used to be that when Chelsea needed a manager, the phone was only ringing to the top dogs, but this isn’t how the current ownership is operating. Those types of managers will come in and want the full run of the place to get it going again."

Chelsea face Manchester City on Sunday and will be managed by Calum McFarlane, the Under-21 coach. 

He has spoken about his meeting with Pep Guardiola, telling reporters: "Ultimately it's a football match. It's not about me, my first game or playing against Pep - it's Chelsea vs City. Two top sides, we'll go there and compete. We've seen this year how this team can do in big moments.

"I'm quite relaxed about it. It might be more nerve-wracking and daunting when it gets closer to the game. 

"I don't feel famous, other than the text messages you usually get. I'm just focused on coming in every day and doing the best I can. It doesn't feel different. 

"I think that we know we're up against a really good team in really good form with a great manager, but we have a really good team. I wouldn't say we have nothing to lose, no."