Mauricio Pochettino is poised to become the new Chelsea boss this summer – a year on after missing out on the Manchester United job to Erik ten Hag.
Former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann pulled out of the race to become the next permanent Chelsea boss on Friday. He remains a prime candidate to be the new Tottenham coach this summer, but his decision to pave the way for Pochettino to move to Stamford Bridge.
The Argentine previously spent five-and-a-half years at the helm of Spurs, taking them to the Champions League final in 2019 before being dismissed six months later. He subsequently spent a season-and-a-half at Paris Saint-Germain prior to his sacking at the end of last season.
Pochettino has been linked to numerous Premier League roles since leaving English football three seasons ago – having struggled to assert the same authority at Paris Saint-Germain with the club’s decision to part ways with him at the end of last season well in the making. He was overlooked for the United role, with then-Ajax boss Ten Hag instead being preferred.
Pochettino subsequently spoke about that decision, suggesting that “timing” was a key reason for him not being in the Old Trafford hot seat. He was PSG boss when United were replacing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with interim coach Ralf Rangnick in November 2021, whereas six months later the position of both had changed.
Rangnick was appointed as a holder at Old Trafford until both Pochettino and Ten Hag became available, with the Dutchman eventually preferred.
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"Football is about timing," Pochettino explained on Radio Marca in November, when recalling his links to Old Trafford. "These are the moments for it to coincide and for that marriage to happen. Sometimes it’s just a matter of time."
This was a similar principle with Spurs this season, who did not re-appoint Pochettino because the cost of paying off Antonio Conte meant they decided to put his assistant Cristian Stellini in charge to minimise pay-offs. However, Stellini himself has now gone – by which point the Argentine is now in advanced talks with the Blues.
Pochettino previously said about his future: "I don’t believe in trains passing only once. I think that sometimes you have to have the necessary patience and you have to know how to wait. The ‘timing’ is handled by football, it is true that my name has always been associated with big clubs.
"I have a lot of respect for professionals and it’s hard for me to sell myself, that’s work for you. That routine that is generated when you are at work is created as a result of the adrenaline of day-to-day. You miss it.
"Now what we do is get together, zoom, eat with the family and talk about the great debates that we generate. That is missed. But at the same time, we do things that when you are immersed in the battle of work we cannot do. Being with family heals a lot."
