So, Chelsea need a big-name manager, an ultra‑charismatic type who can look after the egos of superstar players and also develop the younger ones, offering encouragement to them. They need somebody with an inside-out knowledge of the Premier League, who knows London, too. And they need someone to reshape the squad, to trim the fat, who actively prefers to work with a streamlined first-team group.
It is really not difficult to see the attraction of Mauricio Pochettino, who is not the club’s new manager yet but is getting so close to the job that it feels appropriate to wonder what the future at Stamford Bridge would look like with him at its centre. Even to overlook the disclaimer that relates to how quickly things can change in football, how anything can happen – particularly at Chelsea under the charge of Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.
The Chelsea owners have applied the charm in recent days, seeking to reassure Pochettino and presumably make it clear that they are not the kind of guys whose idea it is to burn through two permanent managers and two caretakers in one season, to fling around eye watering sums in the transfer market without a guiding principle.
But for all of the chaos of their tenure so far, with the team languishing 11th in the table – out of the cups, as well – it is easy to see why Pochettino has been charmed, why his positive energy is surging at what is expected to come.
Every manager knows that clubs almost always turn to them because it has not worked out for the previous person; they arrive in times of crisis. And Pochettino has to see a parallel with his appointment by Tottenham in May 2014 after his 18 months at Southampton.
Back then, Spurs looked broken, scorched by Tim Sherwood’s tenure, the confidence on the floor. The squad needed a rebuild – and on a budget, too. What they needed, as Chelsea do now, was somebody to be ruthless, to move on the underachieving regulars, creating pathways from within, and to convince the mainstays. Hugo Lloris, for example, had thought that he might have to leave to push his career. Pochettino turned him into one of his key lieutenants.
Pochettino’s success at Spurs came from a low base – he would work remorselessly to build the players’ fitness and belief – and the thing to say about Chelsea’s squad is that the starting levels are rather higher, despite the embarrassment of the league position.
When Pochettino analyses it, he probably sees two areas to upgrade – goalkeeper and centre‑forward. Kepa Arrizabalaga has not always convinced and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been shifted to one side, no explanations forthcoming, which has him considering his future.
But in all other areas there are the type of players that Pochettino would relish working with, including senior figures such as Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kanté. Then there are the younger ones: Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Enzo Fernández and Kai Havertz plus those fighting for a breakthrough, including Noni Madueke and Carney Chukwuemeka. Conor Gallagher feels like a prototype Pochettino player.
There is so much talent in midfield, even if Mason Mount were to leave, and Pochettino would back himself to bring it all together, relying on the human touch that has been a motif of his career.
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Everybody can tell or has told stories of Pochettino’s inclusivity, how he strives to make every member of staff – and not just the players – feel a part of the wider community at a club. Here is another. Bonfire Night 2017 at Spurs, and Pochettino gets everyone together for a barbecue; players and their families, staff and their families, too.
The person flipping the burgers on the grill wears a cap and regular clothes, head down as he concentrates, and nobody really notices him until they go for their food. When he looks up, they see it is Pochettino. He loves to put himself at the heart of things, to be hands-on, together with his assistants Jesús Pérez, Miguel D’Agostino, Toni Jiménez and Pochettino’s son Sebastiano; to watch academy games, to connect his club from the bottom up.
Pochettino has always been a development coach; there was a time when it felt as though every England debutant had been one of his at Southampton or Spurs. He makes players better. But he knows what it means to compete at the highest level, having managed for six consecutive seasons in the Champions League (one final, one semi-final, two last-16 finishes), to take charge of one of the continent’s elite clubs in Paris Saint-Germain and some of the very top players.
At the past two World Cups, the winning captains and top scorers played their club football under Pochettino – Lloris and Harry Kane (2018); Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé (2022). PSG have the reputation for being impossible to manage and Pochettino did as well as most over his 18 months there. It is significant that he has retained good relationships with a lot of the players, including Mbappé, Neymar and Marco Verratti.
It is expected to be a summer of change at Chelsea in terms of outs on the playing side but that would be fine by Pochettino, who also sees no issue in pitching up at one of Spurs’ rivals. The thing for him is that they are not their most hated rivals – in other words, Arsenal.
When Pochettino joined Spurs, he was told all about Arsenal, how that derby was the one to circle in his diary, how it was so important to finish above them. Just as he would never manage Barcelona due to his Espanyol links, he would never work for Arsenal. Shortly after his departure from Spurs in November 2019, Arsenal tried to get him to replace Unai Emery. For Pochettino, it was a nonstarter.
Chelsea is a different story. It is unlikely that the Spurs support will give him their blessing, that they will have the rose petals at the ready for their next meeting. The romance would probably be over. Pochettino is determined to look ahead.