Chelsea to decide on Mauricio Pochettino's future at the club after PL clash against Bournemouth - Reports
Chelsea's manager Mauricio Pochettino's future will reportedly be decided in an end-of-season review after the club's final match against Bournemouth. The Argentine manager signed a two-year contract with Chelsea in the summer of 2023. The club can extend it by 12 more months (via The Telegraph).
The review meeting will reportedly include Pochettino, members of the board of owners Behdad Eghbali, Todd Boehly, and Jose E Feliciano and sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart.
From the beginning, the club wanted to judge Mauricio's performance based on the entire season. They don't want to decide his fate based on fluctuations in form in the middle of the season. This explains why Mauricio Pochettino was never at risk of being fired, even after heavy defeats against Arsenal (5-0) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (4-2). However, his fate at the end of the season still stands undecided.
The good news for Mauricio Pochettino is that Chelsea co-owner Tod Boehly has publicly appreciated the team's recent form. They beat Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United in their last two games. Speaking at a Sportico conference on Wednesday (May 8), Tod Boehly commented:
“We’ve seen the last two and a half games...in the second half at Aston Villa [2-2 draw] and Tottenham [2-0 win] and West Ham [5-0 win] where we played beautiful football.
"It was so fluid, it was exactly the way we drew it up, when we came out of the back, built up and moved up the pitch, [it was] very organised and the number of shots we had. In those two-and-a-half games, you could really start to see what we were working on coming together."
The club's final three games of the season will be against Nottingham Forest (A), Brighton & Hove Albion (A), and Bournemouth (H). The results will decide whether the Blues will qualify for the Europa League next season.
Mauricio Pochettino's first season at Chelsea in numbers
Mauricio Pochettino's side is seventh in the Premier League table. In 35 matches, they have won 15, drawn 9, and lost 11, with a net goal difference of +54. This is much better than the club's performance last season when they finished in the 12th spot on the league table.
As things currently stand, the Blues will qualify for European football next season and play in the Europa Conference League. Participating in the UECL could make the club lose money. However, it will give the youngsters valuable European football experience and prepare them for future matches in the UCL.
Mauricio Pochettino's side also qualified for this season's FA Cup semi-finals and EFL Cup final, where they lost to Manchester City and Liverpool, respectively. Chelsea's next outing in the Premier League is on May 11, where they will face Nottingham Forest.