Chelsea FC are on the lookout for a new manager for next season, and now it seems that former Chile boss Jorge Sampaoli is the favourite to take charge of the Blues after quitting from the Copa America champions.
Sampaoli has been looked upon as one of the best managers from South America, after guiding Chile to their first ever Copa America title in 2015. He was also expected to lead the Chileans to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
However, Sampaoli had fallen out with the new chief of Chilean football Arturo Salah, and had even bought out his own contract so that he would not have to continue as the manager of Chile. According to reports, Sampaoli was not happy with the fact that Salah had leaked his contract details to the press.
Now that he has distanced himself from the Chile job, Sampaoli seems to be ready to make the big-money move to European football with Chelsea FC being tipped as the favourites to snap him up as their next manager, according to The Sun.
How much will Sampaoli’s South American experience count for?
The Argentinian might have created history by winning the Copa America with Chile, but he has absolutely zero experience in European football management. This is something that could hurt Sampaoli’s chances (of both landing a job at Chelsea FC and also sustaining himself at a top level club in the continent).
However, he could wash away all those doubts about himself with a few good titles in European football, just like he managed to make a name for himself in South America with Universidad de Chile and the Chilean national team.
