Gary Neville believes Mauricio Pochettino is the man to put an end to Chelsea’s struggle for form
Gary Neville claims Mauricio Pochettino will ‘bring the club together’ if appointed as Chelsea boss following their chaotic campaign… while the pundit backs the Argentine to ‘surprise us next season’
- Neville believes Pochettino will do ‘very well’ at Chelsea next season
- He claims the Argentinian will have the ‘perfect’ set of players at his disposal
- Chelsea are currently in 12th place, despite spending over £600 million this season
Gary Neville believes Chelsea will thrive next season under Mauricio Pochettino if he gets the job and has backed the Argentine to ‘bring the club together’ after a hugely disappointing first season under Todd Boehly’s ownership.
Pochettino is widely expected to be appointed as Chelsea’s next permanent manager after reportedly reaching ‘an oral agreement’ with the club earlier this week.
The 51-year-old could be appointed by the end of the weekend, while senior members of Chelsea’s hierarchy meet in Los Angeles to make a final decision on the matter.
Neville, a former Manchester United full-back turned pundit, believes Chelsea could really surprise us next season if the ex-Tottenham manager is chosen to take over.
Neville also believes Chelsea’s current crop of players is a perfect fit for Pochettino’s management style and will “respect him immensely”.
Gary Neville believes Mauricio Pochettino will lead Chelsea to success next season
The ex-Tottenham manager will be confirmed as Chelsea’s next permanent appointment
Chelsea are struggling in the Premier League despite spending more than £600 million this season
Discussing Chelsea’s potential next manager on The Overlap, Neville said: “I think he (Pochettino) is a really talented coach.
“I think Chelsea can really surprise us next year,” he continued. Pochettino will bring the club together because he wants to. He is likeable and the players will respect him immensely.
“I think he will do very, very well next season. He will cover a lot of the things that happen behind the scenes is my prediction.
Those players are perfect for Pochettino. They are talented and young, but they just need guidance.’
Despite spending more than £600 million on new recruits over the course of the 2022-23 season, Chelsea are struggling in the Premier League and are currently 12th in the table.
Boehly has already worked with three different managers since taking over in May 2022, having sacked Thomas Tuchel after 100 days in charge and just seven games into the season in September.
The Blues then shelled out more than £20 million to lure Graham Potter away from Brighton before releasing him from his duties for a further £13 million in early April.
Frank Lampard was then appointed interim manager until the end of the season, who has yet to win a game in his second spell as club leader and has now lost their last five consecutive games in all competitions.
Chelsea have sacked both Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter since the start of the season
Frank Lampard has returned for a second spell as Chelsea leader, but has yet to record a win
Former Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann has been identified as the number 1 candidate to succeed Potter
Chelsea had identified former Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann as the prime candidate to take over in the summer, but the 35-year-old later withdrew from consideration.
Attention quickly turned to Pochettino, who has been unemployed since he parted ways with Paris Saint-Germain in June 2022.
Pochettino would represent himself in negotiations with the Chelsea board.
Neville believes the 51-year-old is the right man to lead the underperforming Blues team forward for the upcoming season.