Andoni Iraola, Marco Silva and Xabi Alonso are among the managers Chelsea are discussing as potential replacements for Liam Rosenior this summer.

Chelsea believe there will be a bigger pool of high-calibre managers available this summer than there were last time they appointed a manager between seasons.

When Enzo Maresca got the job in June 2024, Kieran McKenna was the other candidate on their shortlist and neither manager had Premier League experience at the time.

Chelsea now want someone with Premier League experience and/or someone with a proven track record at a high level.

Iraola has said he is leaving Bournemouth this summer, Alonso is out of work and Silva’s Fulham contract runs out in two months.

The Spaniard will leave Bournemouth when his current contract expires at the end of the season, with Marco Rose already confirmed as his replacement.

While some senior figures at Fulham remain confident that Silva will pen a new contract and extend his five-year stay with Chelsea’s west London rivals, others are less convinced.

Fulham are currently 10th in the Premier League table, level on 48 points with eighth-place Chelsea.

Following Liam Rosenior’s sacking last week after only three months in charge as Enzo Maresca’s successor, Chelsea’s co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart began to compile a list of contenders for the permanent position.

Contact will be made with the representatives of their top candidates as Chelsea try to ascertain their levels of interest in the role. There are believed to be others besides Iraola, Silva and Alonso.

Sources close to the club say Chelsea intend to hold a robust recruitment process and not rush the appointment of their next permanent head coach.

Chelsea are not in a rush to make an appointment and Calum McFarlane will remain in charge until the end of the season.

Calum McFarlane is taking interim charge of the club until the summer, when that new appointment will be made, and began with victory on Sunday as Chelsea beat Leeds 1-0 to reach the FA Cup final.

A formal offer is yet to be sent to any candidate as Chelsea are still in the relatively early stages of the process.