Burnley boss Vincent Kompany refused to be drawn into reports that he was on the Chelsea managerial shortlist – after Pep Guardiola tipped him to make the step up to the Premier League with ease.
Julian Nagelsmann pulled out of the race to become the next permanent Blues boss on Friday. He remains a prime candidate to be the new Tottenham boss this summer, but the race for the Stamford Bridge hotseat remains wide open.
Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has emerged a surprise candidate for the vacancy at Stamford Bridge, while former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is favourite for the role. Feyenoord boss Arne Slot and Palmeiras manager Abel Ferreira are among those to have been monitored by the club.
Yet Kompany, who has also been linked to the Spurs post, is on Chelsea ’s shortlist after comfortably guiding the Clarets to promotion from the Championship and back to the top-flight at the first time of asking.
Having previously been in charge of Anderlecht for a season, Kompany has impressed for how his side have controlled matches in the second tier with possession and balance, while his personality and coaching approach has attracted plenty of admirers – including at Chelsea.
“I said I’m not engaging on any of these conversations,” Kompany said in his post-match press conference after his side crashed to an unexpected home defeat to relegation-battling Queen’s Park Rangers, after being asked about the links to the Blues.
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“I have too much at this moment in time in my head in terms of wanting to win football matches. That’s the only thing I care about.”
One of Kompany’s biggest admirers is his former City boss Guardiola, for whom he was captain prior to his retirement and move into coaching, who tipped the Belgian for a long and successful coaching career.
"It's nice he's back, but over the last two or three days I've been thinking about what they've done this season. What I saw didn't make me totally surprised about the position they're in, being so close to being a Premier League team next year already," he said ahead of an FA Cup quarter-final clash between City and Burnley last month.
"Seeing what they do more closely, I understand it completely. They will be really, really tough because they do incredible things on the pitch.
"A manager needs time but to be successful with a team, and you need to convince [them] as soon as possible what you believe is the best way to win the games to suit the players perfectly. They have a good team - and the way they play is exceptional."
