A post by @FirstSquawk on X.

ECB governing council members Klaas Knot and Pablo Hernández de Cos have emerged as the only two candidates to succeed Christine Lagarde as ECB president, according to a First Squawk report. The narrow field signals an unusually early and concentrated succession process for one of the world's most influential monetary policy posts. Both are sitting policymakers with distinct policy backgrounds, making the choice a potential signal on the future direction of eurozone rate-setting. The succession matters for markets because the next president will inherit the ECB's balance-sheet runoff and the final stretch of inflation normalization. Watch for formal endorsements from eurozone governments and any shift in rate expectations as the contest narrows.