Mauricio Pochettino is in advanced talks to become the new manager of Chelsea. The Argentine, who was most recently at Paris St-Germain, is keen on the role and negotiations are set to take place before any deal is finalized. Chelsea are looking for a permanent replacement for Graham Potter and are hoping for a quick resolution. If the deal goes through, Pochettino will take over from interim manager Frank Lampard, who has lost all four of his games in charge since taking over at the start of April.
Pochettino was initially approached by Chelsea but declined, however the club are now willing to give him more control as he seeks a job that will allow him to have input and impact beyond selecting the first team. Former Bayern Munich boss Julian Naglesmann, former Spain and Barcelona manager Luis Enrique, and Burnley boss Vincent Kompany were all on the shortlist for the position.
Pochettino managed Tottenham for five years from 2014 and led them to the 2019 Champions League final, which they lost to Liverpool. He was sacked in November 2019 after they made a disappointing start to the following campaign. He also guided Spurs to the League Cup final in 2015 and second in the Premier League in 2016-17. During his time at Spurs, Pochettino was in charge of an infamous game against Chelsea in May 2016 in which his side picked up nine yellow cards, and the hosts three.
New York Times journalist Rory Smith believes Pochettino would be a great appointment for Chelsea and that he is unfairly remembered for not winning anything at Spurs. Former Chelsea forward Chris Sutton believes it would make sense for Chelsea to go for Pochettino, but that he would want control and would not want Todd Boehly, co-owner of Chelsea, to be too hands-on.