27 April 2023 , 00:00
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Mauricio Pochettino is personally handling all aspects of his contract negotiations with Chelsea as a deal to appoint the highly-rated Argentine as head coach nears completion.
Pochettino, 51, has been out of work since leaving Paris Saint-Germain back in July but is in pole position to succeed Graham Potter at Stamford Bridge after the ex- Brighton chief was removed from his post earlier this month.
And after another positive round of talks with Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly, an agreement between Pochettino and the Blues which would see the former Tottenham boss take charge for the 2023/24 campaign is close, with only formalities standing in the way of an official announcement.
That's according to The Telegraph, who have lifted the lids on the talks between the two parties. The report details that Pochettino has led negotiations on his own contract with the help of his long-term trusted assistant Jesus Perez, rather than delegating discussions to an agent.
That means that Pochettino will have the final say on what is and isn't in the deal that will finally see him take the top job at Stamford Bridge. He previously held talks with the Blues hierarchy before they hired Potter earlier in the season.
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Details of Pochettino's hands-on approach comes less than a week after former Arsenal manager and FIFA chief Arsene Wenger spoke out on the current chaos at Stamford Bridge. After reports outlining Boehly's penchant for dipping into the dressing room, Wenger urged any candidate being considered for the Chelsea job to ensure that there would be no interference from above - just as he used to do at Arsenal.
Join the debate! Do you think Pochettino is the man to turn Chelsea's fortunes around? Let us know here.
Mauricio Pochettino is in negotiations to become the new head coach at Chelsea (MDM)Speaking on BeIN Sports last week, the Frenchman made it clear that he wouldn't have tolerated anybody entering the dressing room like Boehly. He said: "No, I wouldn’t [tolerate it], that was always clear in my mind.
"I always put that in my contract. The advice I give to young coaches when they make contracts, I say make what is important for you, put that clearly in your contract that you are the only one, nobody can buy a player without your agreement, nobody can interfere with the team, and you are solely responsible for managing the team."
Away from negotiations with Pochettino, Chelsea's sorry season went from bad to worse on Wednesday night as they succumbed to a chastening 2-0 loss against west London rivals Brentford at Stamford Bridge.
Defeat means that caretaker manager Frank Lampard has now lost all five of his matches since agreeing to take charge until the end of the season. The Blues are currently languishing in 11th place in the Premier League.