Chelsea have shown an interest in Benfica boss Roger Schmidt amid claims he is also on Tottenham Hotspur’s radar.
That’s according to Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, who claims that Schmidt was discussed by the Blues.
The job looks set to go to former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino but Chelsea have explored other options.
Schmidt was one of them although Plettenberg claims no concrete talks actually took place.
It’s stated that Schmidt has real admirers inside Stamford Bridge after excelling as Benfica boss.
Schmidt is happy in Portugal though and isn’t planning to move any time soon.
Add in a huge €30million (£26.5million) release clause and it’s hard to see Schmidt being prised away – which is of note to Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham seem unlikely to land Roger Schmidt now
SportItalia’s Rudy Galetti reported back in November that Spurs had identified Schmidt as a possible replacement for Antonio Conte.
Tottenham seemingly knew – much like the rest of us – that Conte was unlikely to be in charge for next season.
Schmidt was identified as a possible successor but there is no way Tottenham will be paying that kind of cash for a new boss.
Schmidt certainly deserves this kind of interest after a superb season with Benfica.
Benfica sit top of the Liga Portugal table having lost just three of their 30 games this season.
71 goals scored and just seven conceded in that time is pretty astonishing and Benfica are closing in on the league title.
Schmidt only arrived from PSV Eindhoven last summer but has already made a huge impact and even took Benfica to the Champions League quarter-finals.
Tottenham and Chelsea may well fancy Schmidt but actually luring him away from Portugal seems impossible this summer.
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