Chelsea make a decision on Emma Hayes' successor as Blues offer contract to Lyon's Champions League-winning boss Sonia Bompastor

Chelsea have reportedly chosen Sonia Bompastor as their preferred candidate to succeed Emma Hayes, offering a contract to the Lyon boss.

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• Hayes to leave Chelsea at end of season
• Blues have offered contract to Lyon boss Bompastor
• French coach won Champions League in 2022

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Hayes is to leave Chelsea at the end of the season to become the new head coach of the United States women's national team and the Blues have been searching for her successor since that news broke back in November. Casey Stoney and Laura Harvey are among those to have been considered for the role but reports that Chelsea have decided to offer Bompastor the job. It is claimed that the club is negotiating a deal to appoint the Frenchwoman, with nothing signed and the process still ongoing.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Bompastor became head coach of Lyon following the sacking of Jean-Luc Vasseur in April 2021, stepping up from her role in the club's academy. In her first full season in charge, she led to club to its eighth Champions League title, beating then-holders Barcelona 3-1 in Turin. The 43-year-old, who has a contract until 2025, has won six trophies since in the role, with two league titles, a French Cup triumph and two Super Cup wins sitting alongside that UWCL success.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  When Bompastor guided Lyon to the Women's Champions League title in 2022, she became the first person to win the competition as both a player and a manager, having also lifted the trophy in both 2011 and 2012 as a key part of the French side's midfield.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  While Chelsea negotiate with Bompastor, Hayes' Blues have a top-of-the-table clash with Manchester City to look forward to on Friday night as she bids to go out on a high and claim a fifth successive Women's Super League title before the coach departs for the United States.