Chelsea still plan to make their decision on Mauricio Pochettino at the end of the season, according to reliable journalist Ben Jacobs.
The Blues are currently 11th in the Premier League table and just one place higher than their terrible 12th place finish last term.
Pochettino has failed to get a tune out of his expensively-assembled young squad and there are rumours that he could now be replaced in the summer.
One report this week has even claimed that Pochettino could be sacked ‘next week’ if they lose to Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge on Monday night with Jose Mourinho in line for a sensational return to Chelsea.
However, former CBS Sports journalist Jacobs reckons it’s more likely that Chelsea give Pochettino until the end of the season before making a decision on his future.
Jacobs wrote in his Caught Offside column: “Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino are in quite similar positions. The aim of both clubs is to judge them at the end of the season, but each manager has an important stretch of games coming up that could prove defining for their futures.
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“Chelsea’s owners have always planned to judge Pochettino at the end of the season in a two-way appraisal, whilst Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS want to be fair to Ten Hag and take some time to assess him.
“Neither club is in a rush to make a decision about their manager, and part of the reason for that is that not many top candidates would want to join at this stage of the season.
“Naturally, both Chelsea and Manchester United are aware that several managers are in demand with Liverpool and Bayern looking for their next manager ahead of 2024/25.
“Chelsea haven’t made any determination on Pochettino yet despite growing fan discontent. In an ideal world, they don’t want to make a change, so nothing is pre-decided. It’s true, however, that the club appreciates Ruben Amorim, Roberto De Zerbi and Xabi Alonso.
“Sporting’s Amorim was actually looked at prior to Graham Potter being appointed in September 2022 so has been on Chelsea’s radar for quite some time. But looking at names (and even cultivating relationships with them) is just normal succession planning and it doesn’t mean Pochettino is definitely departing. It’s clear, though, failure to achieve European football this season won’t help the Argentine’s case.”
