Chelsea Football Club have reached an agreement to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach. The 51-year-old Argentine is returning to the Premier League after being sacked by London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in November 2019. He is set to replace Frank Lampard, who is currently serving as the caretaker manager, at the end of this season. Pochettino will take over from Graham Potter, who was dismissed from the role in April, after less than seven months in charge.
Horror season after lavish spending
Despite spending £600m on transfers over the last two seasons, Chelsea is currently in the bottom half of the Premier League and will not win any trophies this season. They will also not qualify for European competition next season.
Proven Premier League pedigree
Pochettino has been out of work since being sacked by Paris Saint-Germain last summer, where he spent 18 months as their manager. Under his guidance, PSG won the Ligue 1 title in 2022 and the French Cup the year before.
Prior to managing PSG, Pochettino managed Tottenham Hotspur for five years, starting from May 2014. However, he failed to win a trophy during his tenure at the North London club. He led the club to the Champions League final in 2019, which they lost to Liverpool. He also guided them to the 2015 League Cup final and a second-place finish in the 2016/17 Premier League season, with Chelsea winning both competitions during that period.
The agreement still requires formal sign-off, which is expected to be a mere formality, given that a deal has already been reached. The appointment of Pochettino as Chelsea's head coach is surreal, considering his association with their rival, Tottenham Hotspur, where he spent a considerable part of his managerial career in English football.
