Chelsea have appointed former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino to take over as manager, the club announced on Monday.
Pochettino, who joins on a two-year contract with the option of a further year, is tasked with steadying Chelsea following a torrid season at Stamford Bridge that has seen the dismissal of managers Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter and ended with the club placing 12th in the Premier League on 44 points — their lowest finish since 1994.
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Pochettino is the third managerial appointment made by co-controlling owner Todd Boehly following the club’s takeover last year.
The club said in a statement: “Chelsea Football Club is pleased to confirm Mauricio Pochettino will become head coach of the men’s team from the beginning of the 2023/24 season.”
Club legend Frank Lampard was appointed as caretaker boss until the end of the season following Potter’s departure, although the club crashed out of the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid in April.
Former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann was one of a number of candidates considered by Chelsea for the managerial post. However, ESPN reported that the 35-year-old pulled out of the race with Pochettino and Burnley boss Vincent Kompany emerging as frontrunners for the job.
Sources told ESPN the Argentine coach feels the project at Stamford Bridge suits him because he will be able to build a young team that can play his style of football.
Chelsea face a season without European football for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign, in which they lifted the Premier League title.
Pochettino has been out of work since leaving PSG last year. He was heavily linked with a return to his former club Tottenham after they sacked Antonio Conte but sources have told ESPN he was never formally approached for the role.
Pochettino won a Ligue 1 title as well as the French Cup and French Super Cup during his 18-month tenure at the Paris club.
He also previously led Tottenham to the Champions League final in 2019 and he guided the north London club to four successive top-four finishes in the Premier League.
