Mauricio Pochettino signs three-year deal to become Chelsea head coach

Mauricio Pochettino has signed a three-year contract to become Chelsea’s next permanent head coach.

Sources have confirmed to 90min that the Argentine has put pen to paper on his deal at Stamford Bridge, with his usual backroom team – Jesus Perez, Miguel D’Agostino and Toni Jimenez – all joining him.

Pochettino’s appointment has still not been officially announced by Chelsea, but news of his imminent arrival will bring some welcome relief for the club’s supporters after a turgid 2022/23 campaign.

The Blues have dismissed Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter from their head coach positions over the course of the season, with things no better after Todd Boehly and the club’s Clearlake Capital owners turned to legendary former midfielder Frank Lampard as an interim fix.

Lampard has lost eight of the ten games he has been in charge for, with the 4-1 annihilation at Manchester United on Thursday the latest embarrassment for a club who have spent an extraordinary amount of money in the transfer window yet sit 12th in the Premier League table after losing 16 games.

Chelsea have only scored 37 league goals this season – comfortably their worst return in Premier League history – and crashed out of both domestic cup competitions at the earliest stage possible, though admittedly against Manchester City.

90min revealed at the beginning of May that Chelsea were looking to finalise the appointment of Pochettino, after turning to the former Tottenham head coach following conversations with Julian Naglesmann among others.

51-year-old Pochettino has been out of work since leaving Paris Saint-Germain last year following an 18-month spell in charge – one that yielded a Ligue 1 title but insufficient progress in the Champions League.

Pochettino previously spent five-and-a-half years in charge of Chelsea’s fierce rivals Tottenham, turning them into Premier League title contenders in addition to making a first-ever appearance in a Champions League final.

The inability to win trophies as been a criticism often levelled at Pochettino, but his working methods, tactical acumen and relationship-building with players has been widely praised. He first managed Southampton in the Premier League after starting his career as a head coach with former club Espanyol.