Chelsea set to appoint Pochettino as manager

Chelsea have agreed a deal to appoint former Tottenham Hotspur coach, Mauricio Pochettino, as their next manager.

The 51-year-old Argentine, who is set to return to the Premier League after being sacked by Tottenham in November 2019, will take over from caretaker manager, Frank Lampard, at the end of this season and an announcement is expected later this week.

Pochettino’s trusted backroom staff of Jesus Perez, Toni Jimenez, Miguel D’Agostino, and son Sebastiano Pochettino, are all set to join him at Stamford Bridge.

Pochettino will permanently succeed Graham Potter, who was dismissed at the start of April after less than seven months in charge.

Despite spending £600 million in the last two transfer windows, Chelsea are in the bottom half of the Premier League and will end the season without a trophy, while they will also not play in European competition next season.

Pochettino has been out of work since being sacked by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) last summer after 18 months in charge of the French side, having guided them to the Ligue 1 title in 2022 and the French Cup the year before.

The ex-Espanyol boss managed Spurs for five years from May 2014 but failed to win a trophy at the north London club.

He led them to the 2019 Champions League final, which they lost to Liverpool, and 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.

The Star