More change at Stamford Bridge
Todd Boehly’s tumultuous tenure at English Premier League (EPL) club Chelsea continued as the club announced Tuesday it has parted ways with manager Mauricio Pochettino.
The 52-year-old led a late surge in the league as the Blue climbed from 12th to sixth over the final months of the season, guaranteeing them European competition in either the Europa League or the Europa Conference League, pending the result of Saturday’s FA Cup Final between league champs Manchester City and Manchester United.
will become the club’s sixth since the end of 2022.
Chelsea is now back in the market for a new manager, who will become the club’s sixth since the end of 2022.
Next Chelsea manager odds
A Tuesday meeting between Chelsea officials and Pochettino resulted in the two amicably parting ways, the club announced.
“On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to express our gratitude to Mauricio for his service this season,” co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winnstanley said in a club statement. “He will be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time and we wish him all the very best in his future coaching career.”
“Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and Sporting Directors for the opportunity to be part of this football club’s history,” Pochettino said in a statement. “The Club is now well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come.”
According to betting odds from Betfair, the early favorites to replace the outbound Argentine are as follows.
- Robert De Zerbi (+250)
- Hansi Flick (+500)
- Julian Nagelsmann (+500)
- Sebastian Hoeness (+600)
- Thomas Tuchel (+700)
- Kieran McKenna (+900)
- Michel Sanchez (+1000)
- Jose Mourinho (+1400)
- Xavi Hernandez (+1400)
- Ruben Amorim (+1800)
- Antonio Conte (+2000)
- Simone Inzaghi (+2000)
- Unai Emery (+2000)
believes he has “unfinished business” at the club
Tuchel, who led Chelsea to Champions League glory in 2021-22 but was fired just months into Boehly’s stint as owner, reportedly believes he has “unfinished business” at the club. However, early reports suggest the next Chelsea manager will be younger and one to build with for the future.
Although not mentioned on the odds list, Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca, Brentford’s Thomas Frank, and Burnley’s Vincent Kompany are also reported candidates, according to club insiders.
Reaction and potential replacements
Mirror Football reported that Boehly and many players at Chelsea still believed in Pochettino. BBC Sport’s NIzaar Kinsella confirmed that with his report the players were saddened when they found out of Pochettino’s sacking on Tuesday.
However, co-owner Behdad Egbali and other club officials were supposedly not as steadfast in their belief in the coach.
Pochettino is also said to have wanted more influence in the club’s transfer policy. Notably, the Blues spent more than $1.1bn in the first three transfer windows under the current ownership.
worked with several players in the Chelsea squad
Looking at the top favorites, Chelsea has reportedly long been an admirer of De Zerbi, who announced last week he was leaving Brighton. The 44-year-old helped his former club achieve European competition for the first time in its history a year ago and worked with several players in the Chelsea squad, including Moises Caicedo, Mykhailo Mudryk, and Levi Colwill.
Flick has no ties to Chelsea, but interviewed for the position before Pochettino was hired. The same goes for Nagelsmann, who was supposedly the club’s first choice for the job but turned them down a year ago.
McKenna is a quick riser in odds to become the next Chelsea manager, per reports. At 38, he helped lead Ipswich Town to a second-place finish in the EFL Championship and promotion to the Premier League.
Chelsea finished its campaign with 63 points and a record of 18-9-11. They took 14 points off the top five finishers in the league with three wins, two losses, and five draws in the league.