Mauricio Pochettino’s days at Chelsea could very well be numbered.
The Stamford Bridge-based outfit has struggled to assert itself for much of the 2023/24 campaign and faces an uphill battle to break into European spots.
With that in mind, former Bayern Munich head coach Hansi Flick is now considered a ‘strong candidate’ to potentially replace his London counterpart.
“Hansi Flick is now a strong candidate for the Chelsea job,” Christian Falk told CaughtOffside in his exclusive Fact Files column.
The BILD journalist went on to add: “Flick would love to manage in the Premier League and is looking at the big six. He was talking with Tottenham before he was coaching the national team. This would be a club on his level.
“Chelsea is very interesting as he talked with the club after Frank Lampard was sacked; there was a telephone call between him and former director Marina Granovskaia. At this point, he was the treble-winning coach for Bayern (from the 2019/20 season) and he said no when the talks took place, in 2021, at the time because he was at the club. But he was interested in Chelsea.
“Now that they’re searching for another manager, and they know he’s interested, I think this topic can get hot.”
Could Mauricio Pochettino’s days be numbered?
Football fans would be wise to feel a touch of sympathy for the former Tottenham boss.
Not all of the Blues’ problems this term can boil down to how the club has been managed since his arrival the prior summer.
For one, injuries have been a serious contributing factor, with big summer signing Christopher Nkunku, for instance, having been sat on the treatment table for a significant portion of the season.
A finish outside the top four – and likely outside of the European places – for a second year in a row, of course, could very well prove terminal for the Argentine’s managerial hopes.
I really liked how they played against Tottenham. Defensively they we always a step ahead. Heck, Cuca was exceptional. I’d start the very same back 4 this next game. Maybe they’ve stumbled upon a solid backline. Top that off with a mid-field that played really well and a Chelsea fan has to be happy. It’s been painful but the team looked like pros for the most part. If they can hold at a 4-6 for a year or two – stability is necessary – then they would be anchored to hunt for strategic pieces to target the upper echelons again. Knee-jerk decisions must be avoided else we’ll be in quicksand.