A Sky Sports reporter has lifted the lid on some talks between Chelsea and an "elite manager", with Mauricio Pochettino leaving Stamford Bridge by mutual consent on Tuesday.
Pochettino exit confirmed after Chelsea announcement
Uncertainty surrounded the future of Pochettino in the build up to Tuesday evening, despite a brilliant end to the Premier League campaign where the club qualified for Europe after winning all of their last five league games, averaging nearly three goals per game in that run.
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As well as this, Pochettino guided Chelsea to a Carabao Cup final and FA Cup semi-final, with the Blues also finishing just five points off a top four place in the end. While the first half of 2023/2024 clearly wasn't good enough, especially after Todd Boehly and co pumped over £400 million into Pochettino's squad last summer, there was at least a hint of positivity and something to build upon towards the latter stages.
Chelsea 2-1 Bournemouth
Brighton 1-2 Chelsea
Nottingham Forest 2-3 Chelsea
Chelsea 5-0 West Ham
Chelsea 2-0 West Ham
However, the board clearly couldn't see a way forward with the ex-Spurs boss, and the feeling was apparently mutual. Chelsea announced that Pochettino has left the club by mutual consent, with Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley now tasked with finding the Argentine's replacement.
Even before Pochettino's departure, Chelsea were doing their due-diligence on managerial candidates, in the event he left. Roberto De Zerbi has been discussed internally as a top candidate at Chelsea, according to some reports, with the Italian also keen to make the move to west London.
It's also believed that Boehly could even consider former head coaches to succeed Pochettino. Antonio Conte has been linked with a surprise return to Chelsea, with Thomas Tuchel named as another potential option as he prepares to part with his £10.5m-a-year salary at Bayern Munich.
Chelsea hold "loose talks" with Tuchel to replace Pochettino
According to Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg, Chelsea have held loose talks with Tuchel over replacing Pochettino, and the German has been "waiting" for his former side's official announcement over parting company with their now-ex manager.
Given how bitterly things ended between Tuchel and the current Chelsea board nearly two years ago, it would be a shock to see him make the return, but he certainly has his credentials given that he even guided them to a Champions League title in 2021.
Called an "elite manager" by Paul Ince, defender Ben Chilwell has also praised Tuchel as an "unbelievable" coach.
“As players, we have confidence in the manager. We know we are not going to get a better manager,” said Chilwell (via Standard Sport).
“I am not just saying it, he is unbelievable. I think he has a lot of trust in us. Now there’s that stability, which could have potentially been tricky, is now resolved it is up to us to work and try and get consistency on the pitch."