Chelsea news: Manuel Pellegrini 'contacted' over succeeding Guus Hiddink as next manager

Hiddink will leave Chelsea at the end of the season prompting speculation that Pellegrini could take over if he is sacked by Manchester City

Manchester city manager Manuel Pellegrini is being linked with Chelsea (Getty Images)

Manuel Pellegrini has emerged as a shock contender to be the next Chelsea manager once Guus Hiddink leaves at the end of the season, should Pep Guardiola replace the Chilean at Manchester City as expected.

Guardiola’s decision to leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season was confirmed on the weekend, with City the front-runners to sign the former Barcelona manager after his public declaration of wanting to work in the Premier League at some point in his career combined with his positive relationships with City officials Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano.

That could cause City to dispense with Pellegrini’s services at the end of the season despite him having a contract that runs until the end of the following season in 2017, and Pellegrini hinted at a glimpse of the future when he addressed to possibility of Guardiola being City manager “someday”, although he stopped short of saying he will be his replacement.

But in a surprising twist that follows Jose Mourinho’s sacking at Chelsea last Thursday, Pellegrini has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge at the end of the season, with Fox Sports reporting that the club’s prominent technical director Michael Emenalo has identified the 62-year-old as the Blues’ next manager.

Duncan Castles, who also writes for the Sunday Times among other publications, has reported the news that Hiddink could be succeeded by Pellegrini, despite still having a job and competing with City for the Premier League, FA Cup and Capital One Cup as well as the Champions League when it resumes in February.

Hiddink confirmed over the weekend that he will not extend his stay at Stamford Bridge beyond the end of the season, meaning his short tenure will be remarkably similar to his 2009 reign when he replaced Luis Felipe Scolari in a deal until the end of the campaign.

“It’s really for five months, not for longer,” Hiddink told De Telegraaf in the Netherlands. “Next season Chelsea will have another coach than Hiddink for the first team.”

Emenalo became a prominent name in Mourinho’s departure after he featured in a video interview on the club’s official TV channel to explain the decision to sack the Portuguese manager, despite Chelsea winning the Premier League title in April this year, citing a “palpable discord between players and manager”.

He is said to have recommended Pellegrini to club owner Roman Abramovich before Mourinho returned in 2013, and he has again tipped the Chilean for the job with financial terms and a pre-contract deal said to have been discussed with Pellegrini’s representatives.