Chelsea are closing in on the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as the two parties continued talks on Monday.
The Blues are yet to appoint a permanent successor to Graham Potter, who lasted just seven months in the job after taking over from Thomas Tuchel.
Todd Boehly has installed Frank Lampard until the end of the season but an announcement on the club’s new manager is now set to happen earlier than that, with Pochettino understood to be keen. Lampard has lost every one of his games in charge so far, with Chelsea knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid, and there is a concern the situation could spiral if a more permanent plan is not put in place soon.
While it is not yet known if Pochettino would take charge with immediate effect or wait until the summer, it is thought Chelsea players are supportive of the move.
Should he accept an offer, the former Tottenham boss will be under pressure to deliver silverware quickly in light of his trophyless five years across the capital.
There were also doubts raised over his management of big names at Paris Saint-Germain, notably Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.
Boehly has already brought in £600m worth of new players but Pochettino is still viewed as a good fit because a number of them are still developing.
He forged his reputation at Spurs on transforming an under-achieving squad into Champions League finalists and title contenders, which is exactly the job required at Stamford Bridge.
The Argentine has also been strongly linked with the Spurs vacancy, which took another twist on Monday night when interim boss Cristian Stellini was sacked.
Yet Pochettino is not one of the leading candidates at his old club, who are as it stands more likely to opt for Julian Nagelsmann. At Chelsea he is the preferred choice, especially since talks with Nagelsmann broke down over recruitment.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/X8eGtiN
Post a Comment