Guardiola sounded out for Chelsea job

Whether we like it or not, the reality is that José Mourinho is quite possibly at a crossroads in his second spell in charge of Chelsea. The manager and the squad have been given a vote of confidence twenty days ago, only a few days after Chelsea's loss against Southampton and since then the Blues have managed only one win, one draw and one loss.  While the actual performances, if not quite the results, seem to be improving, that alone isn't enough to stop rumours about sackings and replacements. In fact, they're only picking up steam as Mourinho has now become the second favorite to be the next managerial departure in the Premier League.

Intermediaries, working independently and not at the request of [Roman] Abramovich or Chelsea, are already attempting to gauge whether [Pep] Guardiola would be interested in taking over at Stamford Bridge when his Bayern Munch contract expired at the end of the season. They want to be in a position to hand Guardiola to the Blues owner if Mourinho is sacked.

How nice of these so-called "intermediaries" who no doubt have absolutely zero connection to Chelsea or to long-rumored Guardiola fan Roman Abramovich.  Chelsea certainly wouldn't want to appear to be doing anything inappropriate or untoward, lest we get into some hot water with tapping-up a manager from a European rival. The again, since Guardiola wouldn't change jobs until the summer anyway, if Mourinho does get fired, our far more immediate concern should be to find a caretaker manager first.  (That Carlo Ancelotti sure has been talkative lately, no?)

Meanwhile in Germany, Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm has expressed his support for Pep Guardiola, echoing the general feelings of his club colleagues on their manager.

"The team's opinion is clear. We enjoy working together with our coach [Guardiola] and he is an outstanding manager. Everything else is not in our hands. The only thing I can say is that the team would like Guardiola to stay."

"Yes, I have [told him to extend his contract with the club]."

Chelsea aren't the only club linked with the former Barcelona midfielder and manager, as Manchester City have apparently also shown interest. They see him as the perfect successor to Manuel Pellegrini, and they hope that Guardiola's reported interest in managing a London club could be trumped maybe by money, or by having the squad and/or resources more suited for the type of team he wants to run. Either way, it sounds like Guardiola might actually, finally be coming to the Premier League; whether as foe or ally remains to be seen.