Monday evening proved highly significant in Chelsea's continued search for a new permanent head coach.
football.london understands the Blues held very positive talks with Mauricio Pochettino and his entourage on Monday night regarding the vacant manager's position at Stamford Bridge. Graham Potter was sacked earlier in the month and the club have been on the hunt for a permanent successor ever since but are determined to ensure they do not repeat past mistakes and rush the process.
However, the process appears to almost be over. Pochettino is now the clear front-runner for the job and it's understood there is confidence from both sides that the deal will get done.
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Both parties are determined to make sure the appointment does happen with Chelsea seeing Pochettino as the ideal fit to spearhead the club's long-term ambitions. The Argentine manager, who was in charge at Tottenham between 2015 and 2019, is really keen to return to the Premier League as he looks to embark on the latest chapter of his managerial career.
football.london has been told the Chelsea players will welcome the possible appointment of Pochettino, although it appears he wouldn't take charge for the remainder of the campaign. No contract has been offered to the 51-year-old just yet but with the way negotiations are progressing, it won't be too long away.
Pochettino looks set to become the third permanent head coach to work under Todd Boehly since the American, along with Clearlake Capital, bought Chelsea just under 12 months ago. Thomas Tuchel was let go by the club in September after disagreeing with the owners over the vision of the club, while Potter's lack of progress saw him sacked at the beginning of April.
The club's ownership group have done their due diligence this time around in the appointment process. So many other names have been looked at and considered, including Napoli's Luciano Spaletti, Burnley boss Vincent Kompany and of course Julian Nagelsmann, who recently ruled himself out of contention.
However, it now looks as if Pochettino is their man. The club had considered appointing the Argentine prior to Potter taking over after Tuchel's sacking. He is someone that has been admired ever since Boehly and Co. took over and was also appreciated when former owner Roman Abramovich was at the club.
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