Former Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez has agreed with Gary Neville on how Mauricio Pochettino may perform at Stamford Bridge next season. The Blues have confirmed Pochettino's appointment as the club's new manager after the Argentine signed a contract until 2025, with the option of a third year.
Pochettino will take over managerial duties from caretaker boss Frank Lampard and officially begin his new role with Chelsea on July 1. The 51-year-old held positive talks with club representatives over the course of April and May and has now been confirmed as Graham Potter's permanent successor.
Lampard is set to assist Pochettino in the handover ahead of next season and a busy summer transfer window. The 51-year-old is said to want to sign a new goalkeeper, central midfielder and striker but will have to wait for players to leave the club before new signings can be brought into the squad.
READ MORE: Mauricio Pochettino confirmed as Chelsea manager after signing two-year contract
Former Manchester United defender Neville believes there are plenty of positives to look forward to about the upcoming year for Chelsea under Pochettino, despite aiming another dig at Boehly, saying: "Todd Boehly is not a new owner it feels like he's been here about 200 years, we've talked that much about him!
"I love Pochettino. I said a couple of weeks ago that they could be a Mauricio Pochettino away, and refining to the squad and adding one or two more players in the right positions that they're short in from having a very good season next season.
"Pochettino will not take a job on where he didn't think there was huge potential to get Chelsea back up to the very top of the league. He's done it at Tottenham, it's not a too dissimilar situation to what he faced at Tottenham where he had a group of players that didn't run as much as he wanted them to, maybe a bit older than he liked.
"Now he's going to have a group of younger players at Chelsea, with some older players that maybe don't run as much as he'd like them to, not as organised as he should be, they haven't got the patterns of play that they want but I think he could put that into them very, very quickly and appointing him early, getting him in place, looking forward to pre-season and the plans, the recruitment and what they're going to do."
"He will bring stability straight away," he added on the Gary Neville podcast. "He won't have any nonsense around him, all that stuff about owners turning up in the dressing room.
"Pochettino isn't going to have that, he isn't going to accept that. From that point of view, it's a really good move.
"I don't think Chelsea can lose with this appointment. He'll make massive improvements straight away."
Benitez believes the Argentine must be aiming for a return to the top four in his first season with the Blues. When speaking about Pochettino's imminent arrival at Chelsea, Benitez told Football Daily: "He’s a good manager, obviously. We will see in a few months if it’s right. But in theory? Yes.
"We are talking about someone that knows the Premier League and how to compete at the top of the table. He will make a lot of right decisions, and if you do that, this team has to be in the top four."
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