According to reports, former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has ‘signed a contract’ to become Chelsea’s new permanent head coach.
The 51-year-old has been out of work since leaving PSG at the end of last season.
He was lauded for his work at Southampton and Spurs in the Premier League. His best achievement arguably came when he guided the London outfit to their first Champions League final in 2019.
Pochettino was linked with Man Utd last year before they appointed Erik ten Hag but he is now returning to the Premier League with Chelsea.
The Blues have been without a permanent boss since Graham Potter was sacked at the start of April.
Chelsea have spent around £600m on signings over the past year but they have endured a nightmare season. Interim boss Frank Lampard has only won one of his ten games in charge and they are 12th in the Premier League ahead of the final game of the 2022/23 campaign.
The Premier League side have been linked with Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique but it has been clear for a few weeks that Pochettino is going to be brought in.
The Telegraph are now reporting that Pochettino has ‘signed his Chelsea contract to become their new head coach’.
His ‘deal is expected to run for three years with an official Chelsea announcement anticipated in next 48 hours’ and he is going to ‘start work in the summer’.
Lampard was in a jovial mood during his press conference earlier this week. When asked if the Chelsea job is the toughest it has been for 20 years, he said. “I don’t know, it’s a good headline but I don’t know.
“It remains to be seen, but I can’t jump into the future. I think it’s a fantastic job because it’s the Chelsea job.
“When I took it, the first time I came, I probably got the job because a lot of top managers didn’t want the job.
“I know that for a fact, it was a big part of it, but I enjoy the process and I enjoy coming in.”
Man Utd legend Gary Neville thinks Chelsea “could really surprise” people next season.
“I think he (Pochettino) is a really talented coach,” Neville said on The Overlap.
“I think Chelsea next year could really surprise us. Pochettino will bring the club together because he will. He’s likeable and the players will respect him enormously.
“I think he’ll do a very, very good job next season. He’ll cover a lot of the stuff that’s going on behind the scenes is my prediction.
“Those players are perfect for Pochettino. They are talented and young, but they just need direction.”
READ MORE: The definitive ranking of 10 greatest final days in Premier League history