According to reports, Chelsea are ‘set to appoint’ Mauricio Pochettino and the ex-Tottenham boss will replace Frank Lampard next month.
The Blues have been searching for a new permanent head coach since Graham Potter was sacked at the start of April.
Luis Enrique and Julian Nagelsmann have been linked with Chelsea in recent weeks but Pochettino later emerged as the club’s preferred target.
Pochettino has been out of work since leaving PSG at the end of last season and he has since been waiting for the right opportunity. He has previously been lauded for his work at Spurs and Southampton.
His return to the Premier League is now on the brink of being announced. Fabrizio Romano took to Twitter on Saturday evening to state.
“Chelsea are now set to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach, here we go! Full agreement is in place as expected.
“Pochettino has accepted all conditions of long-term deal — it will be signed and completed soon after negotiation very advanced since April.
“Mauricio Pochettino will sign a contract in the next days but he will start this new Chelsea chapter in June, not now — as Lampard will remain as caretaker coach.
“Poch will bring in his people for coaching staff — he will discuss transfer strategy with the club immediately.”
A separate report from journalist Ben Jacobs claims a deal for Pochettino has been “advanced for two weeks”. He also points out that the incoming head coach is keen to keep Mason Mount.
“Chelsea have now agreed terms with Mauricio Pochettino to become their new head coach. Miguel D’Agostino, Jesus Perez, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino will also all join.
“Deal has been advanced for two weeks with Pochettino negotiating his terms along with his backroom staff. Chelsea was encouraged by the two-way nature of conversations during the process. Pochettino really engaged and clear in his vision, which impressed #CFC’s senior leadership.
“As previously reported, Pochettino has emphasised the importance of keeping Mason Mason, a summer clear out and bringing in proven Premier League quality.”
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Lampard earned his first win since returning to the club as their interim head coach last week as Chelsea beat Bournemouth 3-1.
The Blues could not follow this result up with another win as they were held to a 2-2 draw against Nottm Forest on Saturday afternoon.
Raheem Sterling’s brace was cancelled out by two goals from Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi. Speaking post-match, Lampard called on his attacking players to be more clinical in front of goal.
“Raheem Sterling has done it and he’s produced it again. If you’re going to win games when you have 76 per cent possession, you need to be killers at the top end of the pitch, and Raheem is proven to be that. At the moment we don’t have enough of that.”
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