Chelsea have been linked with an approach for Malaga manager Manuel Pellegrini in the summer. The Chilean, who has also had spells with Villarreal and perhaps most famously Real Madrid, is contracted with the La Liga club till 2015.

Manuel Pellegrini
Reuters

The Independent quotes Jesus Martinez, Pellegrini's agent, in conversation with Chilean newspaper El Mercurio: "Manuel has a contract with Malaga. I think that in April and May we will be clear about what will happen with his future. We had a formal offer from Roma, but we rejected it. It was less than 15 days ago, but we discarded it outright because we are in the middle of the season."

Martinez confirmed Premier League clubs were interested in his client, citing the Blues as one example: "Chelsea and other clubs have asked, but only through intermediaries, nothing official. Manuel would love to coach in the English Premier League, as he would in Germany, Italy and other important leagues."

The Stamford Bridge post is presently held by Spanish manager Rafael Benitez. The ex-Liverpool boss was appointed on an interim basis in November, after club owner Roman Abramovich sacked Italian Roberto Di Matteo. The ex-Chelsea midfielder, who incidentally was also an interim appointee at first, led the club to a maiden Champions League trophy last season but a group stage defeat to Juventus (which ultimately led to the Blues' elimination) led to his sacking.

The 59-year-old Pellegrini is widely viewed as an astute and somewhat underrated manager, given his record of success. The ex-defender won the UEFA Intertoto Cup with Villarreal in 2004 and although his one year at the Santiago Bernabeu failed to deliver a trophy, the Spanish champions finished with a club record 96 points in the league and a 75 percent win rate for the season.

Pellegrini's time at Malaga has been equally impressive, with the Andalusian club finishing fourth last season and progressing to the knock-out stages of this season's Champions League, where they will play Portuguese side FC Porto.

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