Ex-Liverpool star raises Jurgen Klopp to Chelsea theory after Enzo Maresca firing

Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole has named Jurgen Klopp as his dream candidate for the Chelsea job, though the former Liverpool boss left Anfield at the end of 2023/24 season

Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp(Image: Getty Images)

As Chelsea bide their time in appointing a permanent successor to Enzo Maresca, they've been advised to consider a surprise move for Jurgen Klopp. Maresca's departure from Chelsea was confirmed on New Year's Day, with Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior emerging as the early favourite to fill his shoes.

Former Blues player Joe Cole, however, has suggested that the club should explore the possibility of bringing in Klopp. The former Liverpool manager has been out of the game since leaving Anfield at the close of the 2023/24 season and has spent the past year as Red Bull's head of global football.

When asked who he'd pick for the Chelsea job, Cole told Paddy Power: "I know it's a mental one but Jurgen Klopp, I know he probably won't even consider it because it's Chelsea and he's Liverpool, but you just never know.

"If your main aim as a football club is to win trophies and you have the money, you go and speak to the top, top boys," he continued.

"I know it seems like it's pie in the sky, but if you don't have that mindset then you're always banking on developing the next best manager, which they thought they were doing with Enzo Maresca."

Cole also had words of praise for Rosenior, saying: "I've known Liam a long time, he was on trial as a young player at West Ham and had a very good career in the Premier League. Obsessive about football, fits the bill in terms of where Chelsea have gone with their last few managers, young and something to prove."

As Cole suggests, persuading Klopp to return to management with a Premier League rival of Liverpool would be a significant challenge. Indeed, if the German were to do so, it would contradict his own words when he announced his departure from Liverpool in January 2024.

Chelsea is looking for a new manager to succeed Enzo Maresca(Image: Getty Images)

"What I know definitely – I will never, ever manage a different club in England than Liverpool, 100 per cent. That's not possible," he declared. "My love for this club, my respect for the people is too big. I couldn't.

"I couldn't for a second think about it. There's no chance. This is part of my life, we are part of the family, we feel home here. There's no chance to do that."

More recently, he reaffirmed this position in an interview with Diary of a CEO. "I said I will never coach a different team in England so that means, if [I did return], then it's Liverpool. So, yeah, theoretically it is possible," he stated.

"I don't even know exactly [what might tempt me back]. I love what I do now.

"I don't miss coaching. I don't. I do coach but it's just different, it's not players."