Mauricio Pochettino has emerged as the favourite to become the next permanent Chelsea manager - despite his long-term affiliation with arch-rivals Tottenham.
The Blues' search for a new permanent boss has narrowed down to a four-man shortlist, although it is understood Julian Nagelsmann has now pulled out of the running. Vincent Kompany, Luis Enrique and Pochettino are among the frontrunners to replace Graham Potter following his dismissal earlier this month.
Frank Lampard was appointed as Chelsea's interim manager until the summer, but Todd Boehly is expected to appoint a permanent boss ahead of the 2023/24 season. Pochettino has already held talks with the Blues hierarchy and could be set for a return to the Premier League.
However, it would come contrary to his comments on his future in 2018. The 51-year-old claimed he would not move to Barcelona due to previously playing and managing their city rivals, Espanyol.
"[Facing Barca] motivates me, being an Espanyol fan and living for so many years in Barcelona," the former Spurs boss told Spanish daily Marca, via Sky Sports. "It is more than understood [that I will never take over]. My path and that of Barcelona are different, opposite directions. Coaching there would be impossible."
The same could apply to Pochettino as he weighs up whether to take the Chelsea job. Spurs may consider Arsenal as their main enemy, but Chelsea definitely consider Tottenham to be their biggest rival.
Pochettino spent over five years at Tottenham and guided them to the Champions League final in 2019. He also helped them to their highest-ever Premier League finish in 2016/17 as they finished second - narrowly missing out on the title to Antonio Conte's Chelsea.
After leaving Spurs in November 2019, Pochettino spent some time out of the game, before moving to Paris Saint-Germain during the Covid-hit 2020/21 campaign. However, despite winning 55 of his 84 matches in charge, Pochettino was sacked at the end of last season.
He has since been out of work and now Chelsea want to lure him to Stamford Bridge ahead of Spurs, who are plotting a sensational return after Conte's departure. Although Boehly could wait until the summer to make a final decision on his next appointment, Paul Merson has urged the Blues to name a new boss now.
"It doesn't matter who the manager is. They need to get the manager in now. They need to sort this out now. This is no disrespect to Frank, but they have got to go 'right who do we want, who do we get,'" he told Sky Sports.
"You go in now, there are four, five, six games to go, you can tinker, who's about to be their next season, who's not. He knows he's only there for the short time anyway. Frank knows he was their for a short time, he was there for the Champions League games.
"Chelsea are in a bit of a problem at the moment. They need to get it sorted very quickly. They've been nowhere in the league in the last six years, they've been a cup team. They need to change it. They need to get a manager in because their next window is massive."
