Mauricio Pochettino has held talks with Chelsea over the managerial job at Stamford Bridge.
Former Tottenham boss Pochettino has been sounded out by the Chelsea hierarchy as they look to make a permanent appointment. Former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann is still regarded as the early favourite and has also held talks with Chelsea.
But Chelsea have got Pochettino high on their list of candidates and are set to follow up the initial contact with more formal talks. Chelsea owner Todd Boehly, together with Behdad Eghbali, are determined to get the right man to succeed Graham Potter who was sacked last month.
Chelsea’s sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley have been sounding out potential candidates and the club has stressed they will not rush into an appointment.
Former Spain boss Luis Enrique has been in the frame but appears to have fallen down in the pecking order with Pochettino and Nagelsmann looking to be favourites.
Nagelsmann, 35, was sacked by Bayern Munich last month but is regarded as one of the best young coaches around.
Pochettino has a huge reputation after his impressive spell in charge at Tottenham and has since managed Paris Saint Germain. His links with Tottenham as a former Spurs boss may not go down well with all Chelsea fans but he has not hidden his desire to return to the Premier League as a manager.
Pochettino also gained a reputation at Tottenham of building up a strong dressing room and instilling a team spirit which has been lacking at Chelsea.
Frank Lampard has been put in temporary charge until the end of the season and Chelsea are in no rush to appoint before the end of the campaign.
But despite now facing a season out of Europe next year, Chelsea are clearly still a big enough draw to attract stellar names to go for the job.
