Jardim and Jokanovic distance themselves from Chelsea job

Leonardo Jardim says he is staying at Monaco amid speculation linking the coach to Chelsea, while Fulham's Slavisa Jokanovic has also distanced himself from rumours he could switch to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea are expected to part company with Antonio Conte despite last weekend's FA Cup final win over Manchester United, which gave the Italian another major trophy to add to the 2016-17 Premier League crown he earned in his first season in English football.

Jardim and Jokanovic are reportedly among the main contenders to take over at the Blues, while another reported front-runner, Maurizio Sarri, left Napoli on Wednesday, being replaced at the Serie A runners-up by Carlo Ancelotti.

Monaco won the 2016-17 Ligue 1 title under Jardim before seeing their squad decimated by the departures of players including Kylian Mbappe, Benjamin Mendy and Bernardo Silva.

Jardim could lose further stars, with Thomas Lemar and Fabinho both linked with a move away, but the Frenchman says he is committed to Monaco for the upcoming campaign.

"I am fortunate to have Dmitry Rybolovlev as president," Jardim said on Wednesday.

"We have a relationship of trust, we have been working together for four years, and he is a president of great quality: to know how to take the important decisions to make forward the club.

"We will continue together for the future and continue to progress the project of Monaco."

 

May 23, 2018

Jokanovic, a former Watford and Maccabi Tel Aviv coach, is preparing for Saturday's Championship play-off final against Aston Villa.

And the Serbian said he is not allowing links with Chelsea to act as a distraction from the prize up for grabs - promotion to the Premier League.

"I have enough important jobs at this moment for thinking about this kind of situation," Jokanovic, who played for Chelsea towards the end of his career, told reporters.

"It's only my commitment and I am thinking only about the final and I don't have time for thinking about this."