Chelsea have reportedly agreed terms with Mauricio Pochettino to become the club's new head coach.
In the days after the sacking of Graham Potter, the Blues hierarchy appointed Frank Lampard on a caretaker basis for the remainder of the season.
While Lampard may have had eyes for the permanent position, starting his temporary reign with a number of defeats and a Champions League exit meant that never became a realistic possibility.
Instead, Todd Boehly and co have been focused on trying to agree terms with Pochettino, the former Tottenham Hotspur boss impressing during the first meeting between the relevant parties.
Despite that significant first step, the process has not progressed as smoothly as anticipated with Chelsea having hoped to have concluded negotiations by now.
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However, in recent days, it has been claimed that the West Londoners hoped to overcome any hurdles by the end of the week, putting them in a position where they can formally start to plan for 2023-24.
According to The Athletic's David Ornstein and further reported elsewhere, Pochettino has now agreed terms to become the next incumbent in the Chelsea dugout.
The report adds that each of Jesus Perez, Miguel D'Agostino, Sebastiano Pochettino and Tony Jimenez will all feature on the 51-year-old's backroom staff.
Other positions are expected to be filled by staff members already at Chelsea, with an official announcement due over the coming days.
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Pochettino has been officially out of work since leaving Paris Saint-Germain in July, but the decision to part ways had been made by the French outfit several months earlier.
The ex-defender will return to the Premier League for the first time since 2019, when he departed Spurs in November of that year after recording 159 wins and 72 defeats from 293 matches in charge.
Pochettino will take over a Chelsea side that currently sit in 11th position in the top flight and will not participate in Europe next season.
He will now collaborate with Lampard and other staff members ahead of officially taking over in June, his first task to significantly reduce his playing squad yet still stamping his own mark with new signings.
Darren Plant
