Ralf Rangnick has claimed that Chelsea wanted to bring him in as their new interim coach before turning to Thomas Tuchel.

Frank Lampard was relieved of his duties at Stamford Bridge on January 25, with Tuchel drafted in as his replacement having been sacked by Paris Saint-Germain the previous month.

Ex-RB Leipzig boss Rangnick was also touted as a contender for the role at one stage and he has now confirmed that the Blues offered him the chance to step into the dugout on a caretaker basis.

But the German manager said he did not wish to take up a short-term project.

Rangnick told The Times of his negotiations with Chelsea: “I said: ‘I would like to come and work with you, but I can’t do it for four months. I’m not an interim coach.”

Asked if he would be open to taking up a different position in the Premier League in the future, he added: “it would have to be something special. It depends on the club and whether you want to work with a German coach.”

Rangnick has matched wits with Tuchel many times over the years and has nothing but praise for his countryman, and his assistant, Zsolt Lőw, who worked directly with Rangnick at RB Leipzig before joining Tuchel at PSG in 2018.

Rangnick added: “If you watch Chelsea now you see a mutual plan for when they have the ball or the other team have the ball. Thomas is tactically on a very sophisticated level.

“Zsolt Low was my player and assistant coach at Leipzig and plays a vital role in his staff and you can see from the way he interacts with players Thomas also has great leadership skills. Appointing him was a top solution. I can only congratulate Thomas and Chelsea for the choice.”