Chelsea’s season went from bad to worse on Monday as they were beaten 3-1 by Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge.
Taiwo Awoniyi scored twice and Igor Jesus netted a penalty for Vitor Pereira’s side, despite the Brazilian making eight changes to his side.
The west London side were moments away from a sixth consecutive defeat without scoring a single goal, until Joao Pedro netted a stunning acrobatic effort deep into added time to pull one back for the hosts.
Despite Pedro’s late strike, Chelsea remain ninth in the Premier League table and could miss out on qualification for any European competition next term.
The Club World Cup holders are also on the hunt for a new permanent head coach, and it appears that the Blues have approached a Spanish legend.
As per journalist Ben Jacobs, the representatives of former Barcelona boss Xavi claim that Chelsea made an approach for the 46-year-old.
Xavi has been out of work since leaving Bacelona in 2024, after failing to win the La Liga title with the Catalan giants.
Hernandez failed to win the La Liga title during his time in charge of the club (Photo: Associated Press/Alamy)
The Spaniard played more than 765 times for Barcelona across all competitions during his playing days, winning no fewer than 25 trophies including eight league titles and four Champions Leagues.
Xavi had previously managed Qatari side Al-Sadd, winning six trophies during his time in the Middle East.
According to Jacobs, however, Chelsea have since ruled out a move to appoint Xavi, with three other Spaniards instead in the running to be take the hot seat at Stamford Bridge.
Marco Silva – who currently manages west London neighbours Fulham – is one name on their shortlist, while Xabi Alonso and Andoni Iraola are other candidates.