The agent of manager Julian Nagelsmann has claimed the former Bayern Munich boss was right to reject Chelsea's advances.
Nagelsmann quickly emerged as a leading candidate following Chelsea's decision to part ways with Graham Potter, and it seemed as though the German would be heading to Stamford Bridge before his surprising decision to pull out of negotiations.
Chelsea turned their focus to Mauricio Pochettino and have now reached a full agreement with the Argentine, who is due to sign his contract with the Blues imminently.
Speaking on Bild podcast Phrasenmaher, Nagelsmann's agent, Volker Struth, discussed his conversations with Chelsea and insisted he was glad a move did not come to fruition in the end.
“I can confirm that Chelsea were quick to call," he began. "There were some phone conversations.
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“It was the right decision [by Nagelsmann] not to go there. It’s a club in troubled waters at the moment. And their transfer policy, spending a few hundred million euros, has raised expectations that need to be met. There were also some other issues.
“He was their number one, that was our information. I believe it would have happened if he had wanted it.”
Chelsea stressed Nagelsmann was never their outright favourite candidate, with 90min reporting at the time of his withdrawal from talks that the Blues had not settled on a preferred manager at that point.
Nagelsmann has since been ruled out of the running for the vacant manager role at Tottenham, whose search for a new boss continues.
As for Chelsea, Pochettino has agreed the terms of a contract which is expected to be signed imminently, with the former Spurs chief already working with the Blues on potential summer transfer targets.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Julian Nagelsmann's agent fires dig at Chelsea over manager pursuit.