Done deal! Mauricio Pochettino signs Chelsea contract to succeed Frank Lampard as Blues boss

• Three managers at the Bridge in 2022-23
• Argentine coach set to take the reins
• Serious rebuilding project required

WHAT HAPPENED? The Blues have worked their way through three managers this season, with Champions League winner Thomas Tuchel relieved of his duties in September 2022. Graham Potter then lasted just 31 games at the helm, with Frank Lampard returning to Stamford Bridge as interim boss.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Several candidates have been linked with the most prominent of Premier League posts since then, but The Telegraph reports that Pochettino has agreed to take the reins. The former Southampton and Tottenham head coach has been out of work since leaving Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the 2021-22 season.

AND WHAT'S MORE: Pochettino boasts plenty of experience when it comes to the English top-flight, while he also guided Spurs to the Champions League final in 2019, but he will be inheriting a Chelsea squad that has underperformed badly this term. They are destined to finish in the bottom-half of the table despite investing around £600 million ($741m) across the last two transfer windows.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT? Lampard’s final game in charge of Chelsea will be against Newcastle on Sunday, with Argentine tactician Pochettino then set to pick up the managerial baton heading towards the summer transfer window and another rebuilding project.