Mauricio Pochettino has a huge job on his hands when he takes over at Chelsea in the summer.
The former Tottenham boss has agreed to become the club's new manager, football.london understands, following a month of positive conversations between the two parties.
He will become Todd Boehly's third permanent manager, with the upcoming period of transition full of pressure ahead of the 2023/24 season. Pochettino will inherit a squad bereft of confidence, with problems to solve.
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But he won't have to face them alone. One man who is expected to join the Argentine in SW6 is Jesus Perez. The Spaniard worked closely with Pochettino during his time at Southampton, Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain after initially joining him at Espanyol as part of the club's analysis team.
In north London, the duo spent hours of each day together, at work and in their personal lives. Perez and his wife Olga, alongside their two daughters, lived only a minute away from Pochettino's family. "It's very rare that we argue. In almost nine years, we've had probably only two or three days when he's been upset with me," Perez told football.london in 2018.
"But you know why? Because he's very close with us. He's a very uncommon manager, because I've had experience with other ones and they've been different.
"If he discusses a new contract then first it's our contract and then afterwards his contract. Things like that mean so much. He never puts himself first.
"But in the back of my mind he's the number one. It's very rare for me to cross the line. Of course I make mistakes and I do realise when I make them, but I never overstep. It's something to know the limit. He never sets the limit but I need to know where it is."
Should he join Pochettino as Stamford Bridge, Perez will be a regular at Chelsea and supporters will be able to get excited by the prospect of the duo in work following a raving reference by the Mirror's Darren Lewis.
Speaking on Sky Sports on Sunday, the journalist said: "The ownership at Chelsea have been taking a bit of stick, but I actually think they'll start to get a lot of credit as time goes on. Mauricio Pochettino is an outstanding signing - not good, not great - I think it's an outstanding signing.
"I covered Pochettino's Tottenham, I saw the way he worked alongside Jesus Perez, his trusted lieutenant if you like. They like to work with young players, establish a culture of respect, hard work and buy into the values of the football club.
"They are a partnership that gets the best out of players that want to work for them - and that's what we will see. But as of that is predicated on if Pochettino and Jesus are allowed to do the job. If they do, they could be a superpower again."
"I feel part of his philosophy," Perez said. "It's completely different. If I'm here today it's not because of me. Of course I have some qualities, but it's because he wants me to be here. He takes me everywhere."
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