Chelsea have spoken to Mauricio Pochettino about succeeding Graham Potter in the Stamford Bridge dugout, journalist Simon Phillips has informed GIVEMESPORT.
However, Phillips says the Argentine is lower down the Blues’ shortlist of manager targets as the west London club continue to focus their attention on Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique.
Chelsea manager news — Mauricio Pochettino
As well as Chelsea, Tottenham also seem to be interested in Pochettino after their decision to part ways with Antonio Conte.
Last month, journalist Paul Brown told GIVEMESPORT that there are people at the club who want him back at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
If Chelsea’s interest in Pochettino becomes more serious, then they could face a major battle with their London rivals for the 51-year-old’s services. However, as of now, Nagelsmann and Enrique appear to be the two frontrunners for the job.
According to The Guardian, Nagelsmann is the favourite to replace Potter, while Sky Sports recently reported that Enrique was in the English capital to hold talks with Chelsea.
What has Simon Phillips said about Mauricio Pochettino and Chelsea?
Phillips says Chelsea spoke to Pochettino last week but that’s as far as it got.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT about other managers the Blues are considering outside of Nagelsmann and Enrique, the journalist said: “I’ve only had info about Pochettino. Chelsea spoke to him last week as well, but that hasn’t gone any further. There’s not much more to it than that.
“There have been no official interviews or face-to-face chats with him yet. It’s sort of been initial talks for now. But in terms of Pochettino, I can’t see that moving very far at the moment. He’s certainly been one of the more back-up options that Chelsea are looking at and they’ll certainly speak to more candidates as well.”
Will Chelsea appoint Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager?
As of now, that seems unlikely. As things stand, it’s clear that the Blues are edging towards hiring either Nagelsmann or Enrique.
If they can’t get either manager for whatever reason, though, Pochettino wouldn’t be the worst person to turn to.
He did a great job at Tottenham, transforming Spurs into a Champions League side, and has also managed another big club in Paris Saint-Germain.
Things perhaps didn’t go to plan there after Pochettino was sacked last July. However, he’d still walk into Stamford Bridge with the kind of experience Potter just didn’t have, and that’s surely something Todd Boehly and co must be considering as they prepare to make their next appointment.
