Focus has been solely on Pochettino ever since Julian Nagelsmann withdrew from talks with Chelsea it was reported last week that an agreement had been reached in principle for the former Tottenham and PSG boss to take over at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea’s decision-makers are understood to have met over the weekend to discuss the progress of their pursuit of Pochetino, whose lawyers have now received a contract as the Blues try and bring the hiring process to an end a month after Graham Potter was sacked.
Pochettino’s backroom staff has also been discussed at length and is close to being finalised, with just a handful of minor details left to address before a complete agreement can be reached.
Chelsea are hopeful of being able to confirm Pochettino as their new manager in the coming days, not least because of the injection of positivity it would provide for a fanbase who have grown increasingly frustrated in recent weeks.
Indeed, sources have suggested to 90min that Pochettino could be in attendance for Chelsea’s trip to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal on Tuesday.
Among the discussions with Pochettino over the past few weeks has been his plans for the current squad, with the Argentine expected to be given a significant say in which players are allowed to leave Stamford Bridge this summer.
Room will be made in the squad for centre-back Levi Colwill, who was earmarked as a future first-team player well before the search for a new manager began, while Malo Gusto’s loan with Lyon will come to an end and the signing of RB Leipzig forward Christopher Nkunku will finally be confirmed.
Neither Chelsea nor Leipzig have confirmed the agreement for Nkunku, which was struck months ago, although the German side’s manager Marco Rose did recently admit the forward is ‘in his last few weeks’ with the club.
