Chelsea are in talks with Fulham boss Slaviša Jokanović over a potential move to West London in the coming weeks. According to recent reports, the Blues have spoken with the Serbian manager over the possibility of taking over at Stamford Bridge as a successor to Antonio Conte.
It is understood that the former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri was the favourite to succeed Conte at the West London club. However, negotiations have broken down with the Naples outfit due to some worries about his past behaviour. Some sources are now claiming that Jokanovic has emerged as a likely candidate after he successfully steered the Cottagers towards a promotion back to the Premier League.
The Cottagers beat Aston Villa with a narrow 1-0 scoreline in the Championship play-off final last month to earn a route back to the top tier of English football. Jokanovic’s incredible achievements in recent times have not gone unnoticed as the Blues are now considering him for the managerial role at Stamford Bridge.
The Serbian manager has taken charge of 129 matches since being appointed as the Fulham boss in the winter of 2015. He has won 60, drawn 34 and lost 35 of those matches with a healthy Points Per Game (PPG) average of 1.66.
The potential appointment of Jokanovic could turn out to be a shrewd move for the West London giants as he has really impressed with his attacking style of play over the last few years. However, there is a major question mark over his ability to cope with the pressure at the top level.
The Serbian has previously taken charge of clubs such as Maccabi Tel Aviv, Watford, Levski Sofia and FK Partizan Belgrade but none of those clubs were playing in the Champions League on a regular basis. Hence, it remains to be seen whether he can cope with the pressure of managing a big club like Chelsea if he does end up getting the job.
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The Blues of London had a trophyless campaign and also missed out on UEFA Champions League football after only managing to obtain a 5th placed finish in the English top-flight. The Londoners are in dire need to bring in some quality reinforcements during this ongoing transfer window so that they have a squad capable enough of challenging on all fronts next term. Only time will tell what lies ahead in the future of Jokanovic and whether he ends up getting the managerial job at Stamford Bridge this summer.
