Chelsea have sacked Mauricio Pochettino (Image: Stephanie Meek/Getty Images)
Following their split from Mauricio Pochettino at the end of the season, Chelsea’s sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart are searching for a new manager.
Chelsea has decided to part ways with Mauricio Pochettino and is searching for a new manager.
Pochettino left Stamford Bridge after just one season in charge, despite having signed a two-year contract in the summer. The Argentine oversaw a promising conclusion to the season, with Chelsea rallying to finish sixth in the Premier League and guarantee European football, so the decision is somewhat surprising.
Pochettino met with sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley as well as co-owner Behdad Eghbali following Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Bournemouth to wrap up the season. They both understood that they would split up before Pochettino’s contract was up.
“On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to express our gratitude to Mauricio for his service this season,” Stewart and Winstanley stated. “He will be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time and we wish him all the very best in his future coaching career.”
“I am grateful to the Chelsea ownership group and Sporting Directors for giving me the chance to be a part of this football club’s history,” Pochettino stated. The team is now in a strong position to continue growing in the upcoming years in both the Premier League and Europe.”
Now that Pochettino has failed to live up to the expectations of co-owners Todd Boehly and Eghbali, the hunt is on for a new manager, following in the footsteps of Frank Lampard and Graham Potter. According to The Telegraph, Winstanley and Stewart have already shortlisted a few names. These include Michel from Girona, Kieran McKenna from Ipswich, Enzo Maresca from Leicester, and Sebastian Hoeness, the manager of Stuttgart.
The Guardian reports that Thomas Frank of Brentford and Vincent Kompany of Burnley are also being considered. According to Sky Germany, Thomas Tuchel, the former manager, may return, and Roberto De Zerbi, the departing manager of Brighton, is another possibility.
Kieran McKenna has achieved successive promotions with Ipswich ( Image: Getty Images)
Chelsea has lost out on Arne Slot, who is moving from Feyenoord to Liverpool, and Julen Lopetegui, who is taking over for David Moyes at West Ham, as a result of delaying the decision until the end of the season. They will, however, face competition from teams like Brighton, who are taking over for De Zerbi, and Bayern Munich, who are searching for a replacement for departing coach Thomas Tuchel.
Brighton is considering McKenna after he led Ipswich to consecutive promotions from the Championship and League One. Given that he recently won the Championship title with Leicester in his first season as a manager after leaving Pep Guardiola’s staff, Maresca might also be hard to recruit. Chelsea is keeping an eye on Hoeness after he guided Stuttgart to a second-place finish in the Bundesliga, trailing only undefeated champions Bayer Leverkusen. Michel has had comparable success with Girona, who are third in La Liga, behind only the formidable Real Madrid and Barcelona.
After three successful seasons in the top division with Brentford, Frank has drawn the interest of several Premier League clubs, and Kompany, who was recently linked to Bayern despite being demoted with Burnley, is also a target for Bayern. While De Zerbi’s star has somewhat faded following a subpar season-ending performance with Brighton, Tuchel is available after turning down the opportunity to stay with Bayern.
Along with Sebastiano Pochettino, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez, and Jesus Perez, Pochettino’s staff has departed. Given that he finished the season with five straight victories to guarantee European football at Stamford Bridge the following season, it is unlikely that his one-season stint at Chelsea damaged his reputation.
