Mauricio Pochettino’s job at Chelsea ‘safe until the summer’

Highlights

• Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly is eager to hold off making a decision over whether to sack boss Mauricio Pochettino until the campaign reaches its climax.
• The Argentine was unable to take advantage of the opportunity to secure silverware thanks to suffering a Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool last weekend.
• Respected journalist Dean Jones believes key figures working behind the scenes could be seeking a potential successor for Pochettino following the latest setback.

Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly will ‘wait until the summer’ before deciding whether to sack boss Mauricio Pochettino, but journalist Dean Jones has told GIVEMESPORT that the Stamford Bridge hierarchy could already be making succession plans after missing out on the chance to win silverware.

The Blues set an unwanted record by suffering a sixth consecutive domestic cup final defeat when a 118th minute header from central defender Virgil van Dijk resulted in Liverpool beating the west Londoners to Carabao Cup glory last weekend, leading to increasing speculation over whether a change could be made in the dugout.

Boehly has invested heavily in the squad since completing a takeover in May 2022, spending more than £1billion on reinforcements in various transfer windows, but he is continuing to show Pochettino his full support despite being forced to contend with another setback during his stewardship.

Ongoing doubts shrouded around Pochettino’s long-term future

Pochettino’s long-term future in the Chelsea hot-seat is uncertain, according to MailOnline, which has led to the Blues already starting to look at potential candidates to replace him ahead of potentially parting company after failing to oversee a stark improvement on the pitch since his appointment.

The report suggests that bagging a European qualification place will be crucial in determining the Argentine’s future, but the Blues currently find themselves in the bottom half of the Premier League and Ruben Amorim – who has led Sporting to 137 wins from his 196 matches at the helm – has been a long-term target for the ownership group.

Boehly handed Pochettino a two-year contract last summer, which includes the option of being extended by a further 12 months, but statistics highlight that he has struggled to reach the heights he enjoyed during his spell in charge of Tottenham Hotspur and only has a narrowly better points-per-game ratio than during his Southampton reign.

Respected reporter Jones recently told GIVEMESPORT that Boehly could seriously consider wielding the axe if Championship promotion chasers Leeds United knock Chelsea out of the FA Cup on Wednesday as it would result in hopes of bringing silverware back to Stamford Bridge being over with months of the campaign still to be played.

Despite dominating the final stages of the second half at Wembley last weekend, the ex-Paris Saint-Germain head coach has conceded that the Blues were hoping to take Liverpool to penalties after the Carabao Cup final went to extra-time, but van Dijk’s late header resulted in the trophy heading back to Merseyside.

Pochettino admitted that he is running out of time to get his hands on silverware and was forced to hit back at Sky Sports co-commentator Gary Neville after the Manchester United legend described Chelsea as the ‘blue billion-pound bottle jobs’ as they failed to take the initiative against a Liverpool side lacking first-team experience.

Dean Jones – Boehly refusing to make imminent decision over Pochettino

Jones understands that Boehly is planning to wait until the summer before deciding whether to axe Pochettino, but suffering a shock FA Cup fifth round defeat to Championship high-flyers Leeds could result in the Chelsea hierarchy reassessing his future as it would mean they have very little to play for in the final months of the campaign.

The reputable journalist has refused to rule out the possibility of key behind-the-scenes figures scouring the market for a potential successor after the Blues failed to take advantage of a golden opportunity to secure the first trophy since the change of ownership at Stamford Bridge.

Jones told GIVEMESPORT:

“I don’t think that Pochettino will get sacked before the end of the season. It would have to take him losing to Leeds, and a big decision being made.

“Their season would basically be over if they do lose to Leeds, so there is not that much to lose by sacking him now, but all messages out of the club are that it will not be a decision made imminently. They will wait until the summer.

“But, if it is even a tiny bit in their mind that a decision will be made in the summer, it’s impossible for them not to be having a look around to see which managers might be a good replacement.”

Chelsea quartet facing uncertainty over future ahead of summer window

Chelsea are hoping to offload Trevoh Chalobah and Armando Broja during the summer transfer window, according to The Telegraph, while there is ongoing doubt over whether Conor Gallagher and Marc Cucurella could be sold as Boehly is looking to make major changes to the playing squad.

The report suggests that the Blues’ Premier League rivals are confident that the west Londoners will need to make major sales before June 30 in order to avoid the threat of breaching profit and sustainability rules, having spent big last summer and made Moises Caicedo the most expensive acquisition in British history by agreeing a £115million deal with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Broja is already spending time away from Stamford Bridge, having joined Fulham in a loan switch worth up to £4million during the final minutes of the winter window, but cashing in on him if permanent offers are forthcoming would result in Chelsea making pure profit as he came through the youth ranks.

It would be a similar situation with Chalobah and Gallagher, and reliable journalist Ben Jacobs recently told GIVEMESPORT that Tottenham Hotspur are likely to up the ante in their pursuit of the latter ahead of the 2024/25 campaign after also showing interest during the early stages of the year.

Unlike Broja, Chalobah and Gallagher, Spanish left-back Cucurella would not be sold for pure profit as they parted with £60million in order to lure him away from Brighton in August 2022, but he has struggled to rediscover the form he enjoyed at the Amex Stadium since heading to the capital.

All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt