Hughes next for Chelsea?

A lot of attention has been paid to the potential return of Guus Hiddink to Chelsea over recent days, but the papers so far have paid very little attention to the idea that Mark Hughes may take over at the club.

After enjoying a successful spell at the West London club as a player, Hughes has never shied away from the fact that he would one day love to return club as manager, and having managed successfully in the Premier League at a number of clubs, he certainly has the managerial CV to suggest that he could be the man to take over at the Blues this summer.



In spite of this, the one thing that may prevent Hughes from taking over is his distinct lack of Champions League managerial experience, and given that success in this tournament is Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's personal obsession, it may turn out to leave him as something of a non-starter as far as being a candidate to replace the unfortunate Carlo Ancelotti goes.



With time running out for Chelsea to make up their mind if their new manager is going to have the time he needs to build a cohesive squad and convey his own personality and tactics to the current crop of aging players, a judgement as to whether Hughes's resignation as Fulham manager was in fact made to "further his career" in top level management shouldn't be too far away.



Whatever the result, the fact that Hughes has made the decision to move away from middle level clubs in the Premier League means that his career is surely reaching a crucial juncture, and one that could see him make or break his career as a football manager.