Chelsea close to confirming Mauricio Pochettino appointment

Chelsea expect to confirm the arrival of new manager Mauricio Pochettino early next week following a final rounds of talks, 90min understands.

The Blues identified former Tottenham boss Pochettino as their main target after Julian Nagelsmann pulled out of talks and the final touches are being put on his appointment at Stamford Bridge.

Terms between the parties were agreed in principle at the start of the month and 90min understands final details on backroom staff and the agreed hierarchal structure in place at the club are being ironed out.

Pochettino's arrival will be a welcome boost for Chelsea following their latest disappointing result, a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon.

Pochettino has made his thoughts on Chelsea's current squad known during talks as the Blues target an improved campaign in 2023/24.

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A legion of players have joined Chelsea already under the new ownership but more incomings could arrive this summer too, with stars like Dusan Vlahovic, Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice all of interest to them.

Frank Lampard stepped in to replace Graham Potter after Thomas Tuchel's successor was sacked and picked up his first win back at the club with a 3-1 victory at Bournemouth last week. Raheem Sterling's double earned them a point with Forest on Saturday.

Pochettino became a cult figure at Tottenham by leading Spurs to a second-place finish in the 2016/17 Premier League and the 2018/19 Champions League final, fostering a young group of players into challengers. He won Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain but couldn't succeed in Europe.

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On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth and Graeme Bailey to discuss all the latest transfer news. On the agenda: Aurelien Tchouameni, Lionel Messi, Moises Caicedo, Rafael Leao, Kim min-Jae, David De Gea, Dusan Vlahovic and more.

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