Mauricio Pochettino 'turned down eight jobs before accepting Chelsea deal'

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 15 May 2023

Mauricio Pochettino allegedly turned down approaches from eight clubs before agreeing a deal to become the new head coach of Chelsea.

Mauricio Pochettino has reportedly rejected approaches from as many as eight clubs since his departure from Paris Saint-Germain.

Over the weekend, it was widely claimed that Pochettino had agreed terms to become the new head coach of Chelsea from the start of June.

The Argentine is due to be in England this week to finalise the final details of the move and collaborate with current staff, including caretaker manager Frank Lampard.

Nevertheless, since formally leaving his role with PSG last July, the 51-year-old has frequently been linked with other jobs with clubs eager to capitalise on his availability.

According to Guillem Balague, who was speaking to BBC Sport, as many as eight clubs have attempted to link up with Pochettino.

Mauricio Pochettino in charge of Paris Saint-Germain in December 2021 © Reuters

Balague told the outlet: "He hasn't been short of offers since leaving Paris, but none have ticked as many boxes as Chelsea have, certainly in this second round of negotiations with the club.

"He was determined to make sure that he made the right choice as to his next employer - and initially turned down Boehly's Chelsea until he was offered more control.

"He has received approaches from Benfica, Athletic Bilbao, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest. Sevilla also made contact, as did Villarreal, Nice and Leeds [United]."

Some of those clubs - Benfica and Aston Villa in particular - have gone on to enjoy excellent campaigns, Benfica on the brink of the Primeira Liga title and Villa in contention for surprise European qualification.

Aston Villa's Jacob Ramsey celebrates scoring their first goal with Leon Bailey on May 13, 2023 © Reuters

Villarreal are in fifth place in La Liga despite having to replace Villa-bound Unai Emery, while Sevilla are in the Europa League semi-finals and have remarkably surged far enough up Spain's top flight to contest seventh spot along with Bilbao.

However, Nice are down in 10th position in Ligue 1 and will miss out on Europe in 2023-24, and Nottingham Forest and Leeds are each scrapping for Premier League survival.

Pochettino will be tasked with preventing Chelsea from becoming a mid-table club in the long term, the West Londoners currently sitting in 11th place in England's top flight ahead of a closing triple-header of Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle United.

According to reports, Pochettino wants to prioritise a new goalkeeper, central midfielder and central forward in the summer transfer window at a time when Chelsea must make vast cutbacks through player sales.