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Chelsea in advanced talks over Mauricio Pochettino – and what really went wrong with Julian Nagelsmann
Mauricio Pochettino is in advanced talks to replace Graham Potter at Chelsea. Things are moving fast and as of Monday evening final negotiations were underway. It wasn’t quite a done deal as of Monday night, and Chelsea hadn’t issued any kind of contract, but there was real confidence from both sides a deal was close.
Things could well progress very quickly now over the coming days, and Pochettino is expected to be joined by his assistant Jesus Perez and his son, Sebastino, who is a sports scientist.
Chelsea have considered Pochettino multiple times, both under Roman Abramovich and Clearlake-Boehly. Pochettino was a candidate after Thomas Tuchel was sacked in September, but Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali decided to hire Potter instead. Plus, Pochettino was not entirely sold on the project back then. This was due to not wanting to rush straight back into work following his PSG exit, and there being less structure at Chelsea.
Fans may say things are worse now, and that’s true on the field in terms of Chelsea’s season, but remember back then Chelsea didn’t have a recruitment team and the owners and board were basically brand new. Now Pochettino has had time to see Chelsea develop and understand the long-term plan. The timing just feels better for Pochettino, and next season can be a bit of a clean slate.
There have also already been talks about summer outgoings and Pochettino’s desire to keep Mount Mason, which is shared by the ownership despite very firm interest from Liverpool.
With Pochettino, as of Monday night, getting really close and things expected to progress over the next 48 hours, Chelsea can soon start to plan for next season. Of course for much of the hiring process Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique were both considered strong contenders, yet Chelsea sources always stressed it was an open race to replace Potter.
Julian Nagelsmann was never the preferred candidate and the story behind his withdrawal has two sides. Those close to the ex-Bayern boss say he wasn’t sold on the vision having received what is termed an ‘inconsistent’ picture of it during talks. They also stress the hiring process wasn’t structured as Nagelsmann had hoped, which can be taken as code for he thought the job was his.
Chelsea sources paint a slightly different picture, emphasising Nagelsmann wasn’t prepared to go through what has repeatedly been termed an “exhaustive process”. The 35-year-old wanted a managerial coronation not a process. It’s also been made clear Chelsea never made Nagelsmann any promises he was their top choice, and that actually due diligence on him provided mixed (and even some negative) feedback.
Moises Caicedo has been praising Arsenal, so is a summer move still on?
Moises Caicedo will again be a name to watch during the summer window after being one of the big January stories. The Ecuadorian midfielder aggressively pushed for a move, but Brighton rejected offers from Chelsea and Arsenal. Caicedo had issued a statement on his social media platforms saying he wanted to leave for “a magnificent opportunity” only to sign a new deal at Brighton until 2027 (with a club option for an extra year) once the window shut.
Brighton handled the situation brilliantly, and Caicedo’s extension has protected his value. He could still leave this summer, and his desire to do so hasn’t gone away, but Brighton’s outgoings are going to be intriguing and should be viewed collectively in many ways. Tony Bloom and Paul Barber will only sell on their terms, and if replacements are found. Plus, Roberto De Zerbi won’t want a mass exodus, especially not if Brighton qualify for Europe. The last thing Brighton will want is to lose Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister if they have Europa League football.
There is huge interest in both players. Mac Allister wants to move early. He is high up on Liverpool’s list and Manchester United appreciate him, too. Caicedo could still end up at Arsenal, even though West Ham’s Declan Rice remains the top defensive-midfield target.
Arsenal can’t really be faulted for not getting Caicedo in January, even though hindsight shows he’d have been a useful addition for the back end of this season. It just wasn’t a case of stumping up. In the end, with time running out in the window, Brighton were simply not prepared to sell. Arsenal made two offers – the highest being for a total package of £70m – and then walked away. This was wise since making a third offer could have weakened their relationship with Brighton. Perhaps if Arsenal had come in earlier things might have been different, but Caicedo’s agent situation was complicated until the final weeks of the window.
Brighton never directly quoted a price on Caicedo. It’s not how they work when they don’t want to engage or sell. The summer may be different and crucially is a longer window. Caicedo would be a great fit at Arsenal, but striking a deal with Brighton won’t be easy – and may be even harder, or at least drawn out, if Mac Allister goes first. The Seagulls still have all the control because of how they handled their star names.
There are other Premier League clubs looking at Caicedo as well. Chelsea obviously placed a bid in January as well. They will bring in another midfielder, but who will now depend on input from the new manager, most likely Pochettino. Liverpool have held a long-standing interest in Caicedo, dating back to his time at Independiente del Valle. But they never bid in January and Mac Allister is more likely at this stage.
There have also been rumours of Caicedo going to Real Madrid after he termed the European champions his “dream club” but he’s not on Real’s radar currently. Real are well stocked in his position and Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni are going to be at the Bernabeu for years to come.