Chelsea have added Mauricio Pochettino to their shortlist of possible long-term successors to Jose Mourinho. The Sunday Times has been informed that Chelsea officials approached representatives of the Tottenham Hotspur manager towards the end of last month to discuss the possibility of him filling the vacant position.
While Pochettino holds reservations about the scale of restructuring work required at Stamford Bridge, the champions are understood to have been encouraged by the discussions.
The discretion with which Chelsea have sounded out Pochettino contrasts with their much-publicised talks with Antonio Conte, the Italy coach. Conte’s contract with the Italian Football Federation expires after this summer’s European Championships and the 46-year-old has targeted a move to England for the next stage in his career.
Conte — who has been working on improving his command of English in recent months — has expressed his strong enthusiasm for the Chelsea job to friends, believing that significant funds will be made available to him to rebuild the first team. Sources close to him expect Chelsea to make a formal offer of a contract later this month. The Italian has been represented in discussions by his businessman brother, Daniele, and wants younger brother Gianluca to work with him in England as his principal tactical assistant.
Pochettino, considered the rising talent of Premier League managers, would come with more than three years’ experience in England with Southampton and Spurs. His record of promoting and integrating youth players at both while working on restricted budgets is attractive to Chelsea. A calm and generally controversy-free approach to handling the media is another characteristic that appeals to owner Roman Abramovich.
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Unlike Conte, Pochettino’s recruitment would require him to be expensively extracted from Spurs, where Daniel Levy has already grown anxious over an approach from Manchester United. Pochettino would also have to convince himself that leaving a team likely to qualify for the Champions League is the correct move at this stage of his career.
Since dismissing Mourinho, Abramovich has failed to hire Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola, and considered recruiting former Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli and Massimiliano Allegri of Juventus.
