Mauricio Pochettino is set to become the new Chelsea boss and make his long-awaited return to management after almost a year out of the game.
The 51-year-old was sacked from his role at Paris Saint-Germain last summer despite winning Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France during his short time in charge. But exiting the Champions League in the Round of 16 against Real Madrid proved to be Pochettino's downfall as he was dismissed in July 2022.
Fast forward 10 months and Pochettino is finally expected to be back in the dugout and replace Frank Lampard as Chelsea's next manager. The Blues are on course for their worst Premier League finish since 1994 and will turn to Pochettino to transform their fortunes.
However, according to the BBC, Pochettino could have returned to management sooner. The Argentine has received approaches across Europe from Benfica, Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla, Villarreal and Nice.
Meanwhile, Premier League clubs also showed interest in Pochettino. Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Leeds were all keen to appoint Pochettino as their new manager - although Forest ended up sticking with promotion-winning boss Steve Cooper - while Villa and Leeds made changes.
Villa were searching for a new manager following the sacking of Steven Gerrard, but the Villans opted to choose ex-Arsenal gaffer Unai Emery instead. That is a decision which has paid off handsomely as Villa moved from just outside the relegation zone to on the brink of qualifying for Europe.
Leeds haven't had as much success since parting ways with Jesse Marsch, though. Javi Gracia was fired after winning just three of his 12 matches in charge - and replaced by Sam Allardyce who has the tough task of keeping the Whites in the Premier League.
As for Pochettino, he was waiting for the right opportunity and rejected those eight clubs in order to become Chelsea's new boss at the end of the season. Jesus Perez, Miguel D’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and son Sebastiano will all join him in West London as part of his backroom team.
The last time Pochettino managed a Premier League game was back in November 2019 when he was at rivals Tottenham, before he was sacked and replaced by Jose Mourinho. But Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali will be hoping he can turn their fortunes around.
Chelsea currently sit 11th and have endured a tricky season under four different managers, despite spending almost £600million in the past year. But the ex-PSG boss has reportedly already identified which areas of the Chelsea team he'd like to strengthen, with Pochettino keen on giving the spine of the side a makeover and a new goalkeeper, central midfielder and centre forward all on his transfer wish-list.
