Former Liverpool, Spurs and Real Madrid men among contenders for Chelsea vacancy as boss named for Liverpool visit

Former Liverpool and Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers is just one of the high-profile names being linked with the vacant Chelsea job today after Graham Potter was sacked by the London club.

The Blues are known for being ruthless with their managerial changes and a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday proved enough to seal Potter's fate less than seven months after leaving Brighton for the post.

Co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said: "On behalf of everyone at the club, we want to thank Graham sincerely for his contribution to Chelsea. We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person.

"He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome.

"Along with our incredible fans, we will all be getting behind Bruno and the team as we focus on the rest of the season. We have 10 Premier League games remaining and a Champions League quarter-final ahead. We will put every effort and commitment into every one of those games so that we can end the season on a high."

Bruno Saltar will take over temporarily as interim head coach and is one of the favourites to land the job permanently. The vacancy also comes at a good time for Rodgers, who departed Leicester City over the weekend and has a track record managing in Europe.

It's no surprise to see Julian Nagelsmann also among the names. The German was sacked by Bayern Munich last month and has been heavily linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, though it appears that Chelsea could challenge their London rivals.

Other big names from across Europe include Luis Enrique, Zinedine Zidane and Jose Mourinho. The former two are currently without a job after leaving Spain and Real Madrid respectively.

Next Chelsea manager odds

• Julen Nagelsmann 1/3
• Bruno Saltar 9/2
• Brendan Rodgers 6/1
• Luis Enrique 14/1
• Mauricio Pochettino 14/1
• Zinedine Zidane 14/1
• Jose Mourinho 16/1
• Roberto De Zerbi 16/1
• Diego Simeone 20/1
• John Terry 20/1
• Ruben Amorim 20/1
• Thomas Frank 20/1