Mauricio Pochettino leaves Chelsea by mutual consent
- Pochettino has reportedly decided to leave Chelsea
- Blues boss met with sporting directors and co-owners before making decision
- Officials drawing up list of potential replacements
By Tom Gott
Mauricio Pochettino has left Chelsea by mutual consent.
The review of the Argentine's position began on Monday, with Pochettino meeting sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart and co-owner Behdad Eghbali before agreeing to part ways on Tuesday.
"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."
Stewart and Winstanley added: "On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to express our gratitude to Mauricio for his service this season. He will be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time and we wish him all the very best in his future coaching career."
According to The Telegraph, Chelsea will now immediately start their search for a replacement and are expected to target a "young, progressive coach".
Stuttgart's Sebastian Hoeness, Girona's Michel, Ipswich Town's Kieran McKenna and Leicester City's Enzo Maresca are all named as possible targets for the Blues, who are now looking for their fourth permanent manager since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital arrived at the club.
Pochettino leaves Chelsea after leading the Blues up to sixth in the Premier League and sealing a return to European football, with the team's end-of-season form winning over many of the team's critics.
As 90min revealed in February, a review of Pochettino's position this summer was agreed upon last summer, with the process also giving the manager the chance to give his feedback on the club's operations at board level.
It is stressed that there is no "bad blood" between Pochettino and Chelsea's officials, and the decision to part ways is not believed to relate to any disagreements over player sales this summer.
Instead, Pochettino is believed to have voiced concerns about working within a club structure, with both parties eventually agreeing a parting of ways made sense.
Chelsea will now hunt for a new manager ahead of a busy summer transfer window which could see a number of departures and a handful of high-profile additions. A striker, centre-back and left-back are expected to arrive.
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