To venture that Mauricio Pochettino’s reign at Chelsea is looking a tad precarious would be an understatement.
However, he has been afforded extra protection in that it would cost the club quite a significant amount of money to get him out.
Having doled out around £400m in the transfer market last summer had not aided the club’s standings in the Premier League as they currently sit 11th in the the table, ominously 15 points off the top four.
Despite having made the Carabao Cup final, they have not had it good across the campaign, leaving Pochettino laboring under increasing pressure by the match, especially after the recent back-to-back heavy defeats against Liverpool and Wolves piling up even more pressure onto the Argentine.
But just how much would it cost Chelsea to sack Pochettino?
The Argentine still has 18 months left to go on the two-year deal he signed a with the London giants in the summer of 2023, meaning it would cost about £10m for the Blues to sack him and his backroom team.
Although this isn’t too staggering a figure, the Blues fear sacking Pochettino more for the reason that it would put them in breach of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules, because the pay-off – if agreed before June 2023 – would be factored into this season’s calculations, according to the Daily Mail.
Hence, removing Pochettino and his backroom staff could result in the club breaking the top-flight’s rigid spending rules. In short, Pochettino looks unlikely to be going anywhere soon in the immediate future.
If it weren’t for Chelsea’s precarious financial position handing a lifeline to Pochettino and he could be immediately removed from his position, who then could replace the Argentine?
This, most certainly, would be the question foremost in the flustered minds of Chelsea fans spoilt by the club’s propensity for winning trophies during the reign of former owner and magnate Roman Abramovic.
Incredulous as it may sound, a certain Jose Mourinho – yes, you read this right – has been linked with a third spell at Stamford Bridge. The idiosyncratic Portuguese manager is out on the loose without a club after his sacking from Roma.
With 3 Premier League titles under his belt during his tenure with the Blues, it is understandable why Mourinho would be a popular appointment among many Chelsea fans.
Admittedly there would also be others who wouldn’t be that predisposed towards the colorful Portuguese doyen due to his defensive style of play, besides having managed bitter rivals Tottenham before.
For now the understanding is that Chelsea are not imminently considering Poch as being under immediate threat and are only planning to review his situation at the end of the year, according to talkSPORT.
However, that said, poor form and a further plunge down the table would certainly merit Chelsea seriously reconsidering the current status quo.
As it stands, Pochettino seems safe at Chelsea for the foreseeable future.