A ‘dramatic 24 hours’ at Chelsea have seen Mauricio Pochettino emerge as the leading candidate to replace Graham Potter, according to Matt Law.
Chelsea sacked Graham Potter earlier this month and replaced him with the club’s former manager and midfielder Frank Lampard.
Lampard’s appointment came as a surprise to many – Football365 included – and he has taken charge of four games since returning, all of which ended in defeat.
Two of those matches were the Blues’ Champions League quarter-final legs against European champions Real Madrid.
Both games ended in a 2-0 defeat for Lampard’s side, meaning they will 100 per cent finish the season without a trophy.
Despite the fact they are struggling on the pitch, the Chelsea job is an attractive one for any manager and the Blues have been strongly linked with Luis Enrique, Julian Nagelsmann and Pochettino.
However, interest in former Spain boss Enrique ended this week and it was reported on Friday that ‘top target’ Nagelsmann has pulled out of the race.
With the German coach out of the running, it is believed that Pochettino, Burnley’s Vincent Kompany and an unnamed boss are the final three names on Chelsea’s shortlist to replace Potter.
Fabrizio Romano’s surprise report that Nagelsmann will not be named Blues boss has left Pochettino in ‘pole position’ to take over, according to The Telegraph’s Matt Law.
The former Tottenham boss has held ‘positive talks’ with the Chelsea hierarchy after initially speaking to the club before Potter was appointed head coach.
Pochettino has been strongly linked with a return to Spurs following the dismissal of Antonio Conte, though Daniel Levy ‘has so far made no move in that direction’.
Law believes talks between the Argentine and Chelsea could ‘accelerate’ over the weekend with no game taking place thanks to Manchester United’s participation in the FA Cup semi-final.
With Pochettino now the ‘favourite’ for the job, it is noted that Nagelsmann is not expected to join Spurs having ended his negotiations with the Blues.
The 51-year-old is out of work having left French champions Paris Saint-Germain in July 2022.
He oversaw Spurs’ most successful period of the 21st century and his time with the north Londoners greatly enhanced his reputation around Europe.
In 2019, the Premier League side finished runners-up in the Champions League, losing the final to Liverpool.
Pochettino was unfortunate not to win a trophy with Spurs but was…
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