Chelsea aim to interview at least five candidates to succeed Graham Potter permanently, with co-controlling owners Todd Boehly andBehdad Eghbali handing power to sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley.

Julian Nagelsmann has been made the early favourite for the full-time post and has worked in the past with Stewart and Chelsea’s technical director, Christopher Vivell, at RB Leipzig.

But sources are adamant that the job is not his to turn down at this stage, as the club are determined to go through an exhaustive process to find the right man.

Stewart, Winstanley and Eghbali were all at the Cobham training ground yesterday to start work on the search for a permanent successor to Potter, who was sacked on Sunday.

The Chelsea players were addressed as a group before Monday’s afternoon’s training session by Stewart and Winstanley, who spoke about Potter’s departure and reminded the squad what is still left to play for this season.

As well as seeking talks with Nagelsmann, Chelsea are expected to interview Mauricio Pochettino and Luis Enrique, both of whom are out of work, while meetings are likely to be sought with representatives of Napoli’s Luciano Spalletti and at least one more candidate, which might include Eintracht Frankfurt’s Oliver Glasner or Sporting’s Ruben Amorim.

There have been accusations that Chelsea paid the price for rushing the appointment of Potter, and Boehly and Eghbali have put Stewart and Winstanley in charge of the process, with the co-controlling owners planning supporting roles.

Even though Chelsea play the first leg of their Champions League quarter final tie against Real Madrid next week, no timescale has been put on the hunt for a permanent manager. Bruno has been put in temporary charge.

Chelsea are, however, aware that Tottenham Hotspur are looking for a new head coach and that Real Madrid and Paris St-Germain could enter the manager market at the end of the season.

Sources are adamant the availability of Nagelsmann, who was sacked by Bayern Munich, and Tottenham’s decision to part with Antonio Conte did not influence the timing of their decision on Potter. Reports in Germany have claimed that Nagelsmann would be interested in taking the Chelsea job, but that he would prefer to have a break and wait until the summer before starting work.

Pochettino has shown an interest in the role in the past, but, like Nagelsmann, could also receive other offers. Potter has already been linked with an immediate return to work at Leicester City, who sacked Brendan Rodgers on Sunday.

The Daily Telegraph in London