Pochettino ‘under pressure’ amid Chelsea’s ‘unthinkable’ issues with Liverpool-linked trio targeted

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino

Chelsea have been told that they have “regressed” under Mauricio Pochettino, who needs to show “something” before the end of the season to keep his job.

Pochettino has not yet had a full season at Chelsea but he is the second favourite to be the next Premier League manager sacked.

Under the Argentinian, Chelsea have reached the final of the Carabao Cup but they are currently 11th in the Premier League and 16 points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who have played one game more.

Sack talk intensified following last weekend’s shocking 4-2 home loss to Wolves, but Chelsea put in one of their best performances of the season as they beat Aston Villa 3-1 in their FA Cup replay in midweek.

Next up for Chelsea is a trip to face Crystal Palace on Monday night and Pochettino will be hoping that his inexperienced players will start to show some consistency before the end of the season.

Former Premier League goalkeeper Paul Robinson believes Chelsea are “treading water” and “there’s nothing” to be positive about at the moment.

“It’s obviously a development and a long-term project – but you’ve got to see some kind of improvement, even if it’s gradual,” Robinson said in an interview with Football Insider.

“Pochettino has only been there for a short amount of time, but look at where Chelsea were last season – there’s been no improvement. If anything, they’ve regressed.

“You can give a manager billions of pounds, but the greatest gift you can give a manager is time. In that time, we now have to see something.

“But in all honesty, they look like they are treading water. I don’t know what they are. He’s forever changing his back four.

“As much as we can see they want to develop youth – they’ve got nothing to show for it.

“There’s only a short time Chelsea can sit in mid-table, for a club of their size. It’s almost unthinkable that a club of this size and with this investment, can be sitting in mid-table and it is chalked up as a transition.

“How long can you be in transition for? We’ve got to see positive signs, and there’s nothing at the moment. I can absolutely understand why Pochettino is under pressure.”

A recent report from 90min claimed Jose Mourinho is ‘not seen’ by Chelsea as a positive fit, but they are monitoring three managers who are being linked with Liverpool. The report explains.

‘There have been strong links to former manager Jose Mourinho, who is available following his departure from Roma, but he is not seen as a likely appointment in the current circumstances.

‘As was the case with Thomas Tuchel when the Chelsea ownership group arrived, it is not thought Mourinho is seen as a strategic fit with Chelsea’s model.

‘Instead, Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso, Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi and Sporting’s Ruben Amorim are among those admired, but there have been no formal discussions and nothing will advance beyond the current situation while Pochettino remains in the post because there is a desire to make it work with the Argentine.’