Chelsea holds positive talks with Pochettino

After a tumultuous 24 hours during which Julian Nagelsmann withdrew from the race and Vincent Kompany was added to the club's shortlist, Mauricio Pochettino seems to be emerging as the leading candidate for the permanent head coach position at Chelsea.

Since Graham Potter's dismissal, Nagelsmann had been considered one of the top contenders for the Chelsea job. However, he will not be involved in the selection process moving forward, as the Blues are now working from a shortlist of three candidates.

Pochettino currently sits at the top of that list, which also includes the unexpected contender Kompany, who recently achieved promotion to the Premier League with Burnley. Additionally, there is an unnamed coach who is believed to be highly regarded and respected by Chelsea.

Momentum is now building in favor of Pochettino, the former manager of Tottenham Hotspur, who has engaged in a series of encouraging discussions with Chelsea this week. Internally, he is considered an exceptionally strong candidate for the position.

Telegraph Sport this week revealed that Luis Enrique had slipped out of contention and that contact has been made with all the candidates on Chelsea’s shortlist, including Pochettino.

Pochettino has had multiple rounds of discussions with Chelsea this week, and there is growing fondness for the Argentine. He had previously been interviewed for the position before Potter was appointed as head coach.

Representatives for Pochettino have declined to comment on the matter, and Chelsea must now weigh the potential hurdle of his history as a former manager of Tottenham. However, resistance towards this issue seems to be diminishing.

Pochettino’s name has been sung by Spurs fans who want him to return to fill their club’s head coach vacancy, but chairman Daniel Levy has so far made no move in that direction.

As things stand, Pochettino would not face a decision between Chelsea and Tottenham if the Stamford Bridge club offered him the chance to permanently succeed Potter.

Chelsea have taken note of the fact that Pochettino over-achieved at Tottenham, almost winning the Premier League title and reaching the final of the Champions League, with a young team after overseeing an overhaul of the squad when highly-paid stars such as Emmanuel Adebayor left the club. 

Pochettino is the coach who best managed his relationship with Tottenham chairman Levy, which may be relevant given the hands-on nature in which Chelsea’s latest owners have worked and their desire for all departments to be collaborative, and took the club through a stadium rebuild when the team had to play at Wembley.

At Paris Saint-Germain, Pochettino won the Ligue 1 title by 15 points and won the French Cup in his first season in charge. Having witnessed Thomas Tuchel’s success at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea will also be aware of the record of coaches who have been sacked by PSG.

As well as Tuchel winning the Champions League with Chelsea, Carlo Ancelotti has been crowned European champion twice since leaving PSG, while Unai Emery has won the Europa League and has been a huge success on his return to England with Aston Villa.

Given the challenging nature of their first season in charge, Chelsea’s owners are determined not to rush into a decision over the next permanent head coach and realise they cannot afford to get the appointment wrong.