Mauricio Pochettino and Chelsea have discussed a timeframe for when to take over, which would likely involve a summer start, as well as potential transfers as his talks to become new manager have reached the next stage.
While it is not certain that the Argentine will be appointed at Stamford Bridge, the discussions have been more advanced than at least one of the other candidates. Vincent Kompany and one other target - who Chelsea have managed to keep a secret - are still in the frame, after the withdrawal of Julian Nagelsmann. It is not thought that Kompany will leave Burnley at this point, however.
Talks with Pochettino greatly accelerated this week as he kept in regular contact with co-owner Todd Boehly, and the prospect of appointing the German receded.
The news of Nagelsmann's withdrawal has been met with competing claims. While Chelsea, for their part, have consistently insisted that he was never the preferred candidate and they were merely going through a rigorous process, the argument from Germany is that talks reached a very advanced stage with the 35-year-old, who was under the impression he was far closer to the job than other candidates.
The stance is that the coach himself thought he couldn't achieve the level of success he wanted with his way of working in that Chelsea structure. There was never unanimity over Nagelsmann within Chelsea, though, and one feeling has been that he just wanted to be appointed without a full process.
Consultation on the former Bayern Munich manager was mixed, with one view repeatedly aired to the hierarchy that Nagelsmann was "too like Thomas Tuchel", a manager whose style they had moved away from.
Nagelsmann is now said to be open to an approach from Tottenham Hotspur, which could complete quite a merry-go-round of managers for the summer.
