Chelsea owner Todd Boehly set for present that Abramovich never got

Lampard insists Chelsea ‘will be back’ after Champions League exit

Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly will soon be in a position to pull off a feat that Roman Abramovich never managed just 11 months after taking over from the Russian billionaire at Stamford Bridge. The Blues are currently on the lookout for a new permanent manager to serve as Graham Potter’s long-term successor, with interim boss Frank Lampard poised to leave his role when the campaign draws to a close.

Mauricio Pochettino has emerged as the firm favourite over the last few days, with the ex-Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain manager reportedly close to reaching a full agreement with Chelsea after holding productive talks in recent weeks. The Argentine coach, who has been out of work since leaving PSG last summer, is thought to be the most popular choice in the Blues dressing room after the club’s other target, Julian Nagelsmann, withdrew from the process earlier this month.

It seems likely that Pochettino will be in the dugout for Chelsea’s first game next season, which would mean that Boehly will have achieved in less than a year what Abramovich never managed to during his 19-year stint as the club’s owner. He tried to land Pochettino on two separate occasions before he was forced to give up his stake in Chelsea amid government pressure following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, according to The Independent.

The Blues are said to have been keeping close tabs on Pochettino for quite some time, with his proposed move to Stamford Bridge in the summer finally set to bring an end to their long-standing interest in his services. Boehly has certainly shown that he is not afraid to ring the changes at Chelsea when things are not going their way after spending over £300m on new players in the January transfer window alone, with his aggressive recruitment policy set to be maintained by the capture of Pochettino so early into his reign in west London.

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Boehly appears to share a number of similarities with Abramovich in terms of how Chelsea operate under his guidance, with the Blues still happy to chop and change their managers having already gone through Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter since the arrival of their current owners last year. There have also been a handful of clear differences, with Boehly refusing to let anything stand in his way in his pursuit of Pochettino after years of the move not materialising under Abramovich in the past.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether Pochettino will be a success upon his expected return to the Premier League with Chelsea, who are yet to officially push the move over the line in spite of the willingness from all parties to wrap up proceedings in the near future. Outspoken pundit Simon Jordan recently questioned Pochettino’s suitability for the role by claiming that although he is good enough to get Chelsea back on the right track next season, he might not have what it takes to transform the club into serial winners.

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“I was under the impression that Chelsea wanted to be winners, not contenders,” Jordan told talkSPORT. “If you want to be contenders, fantastic, Pochettino is your man. No doubt about it, you’ve got a good enough playing squad there, you get a centre-forward in, and you’d be fine.

“I thought they wanted to be winners, that’s where I differ. Pochettino will be better than Potter because he’s used to managing at a certain end of the pyramid. But will he win anything with Chelsea? I don’t think so.”

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