Jevgenijs ‘The Hurricane’ Aleksejevs. Profile and record
Since Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003, the club from West London has had a prominent role in English football. Chelsea have won five Premier League and two Champions League titles since then.
This season, everything collapsed for The Blues. They are on course to finish as a mid-table team, despite Chelsea having one of the most expensive teams in the competition. They started the season with Thomas Tuchel as their manager. Shortly after, Graham Potter replaced the German, but Potter didn’t last long at Stamford Bridge either. Finally, Frank Lampard will handle the caretaker manager role until the end of the disappointing season. Still, with bad results in the previous weeks, it is obvious that the legendary midfielder is not a permanent solution.
In the last few weeks, there has been a lot of speculation about the new Chelsea head coach. Finally, Mauricio Pochettino, former Tottenham and PSG manager, agreed to terms, so he should sign a three-year contract in the coming days.
Although Mauricio Pochettino won only one league title in his coaching career (2021/22 season with PSG), he is considered one of the best in the world.
Pochettino’s teams usually play in a high-pressing, attacking 4-3-3 formation. Another of the main Pochettino attributes is his willingness to promote young players to senior football. Chelsea usually have a good football academy, so the club should also progress in the long run with Pochettino in a managerial role.
Since Mauricio Pochettino agreed on terms, the press immediately started speculation about future Chelsea transfers. According to reports, the future head coach is not satisfied with Edouard Mendy and Kepa Arrizabalaga, so he is looking for a new goalkeeper. It is believed that Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez is high on Pochettino’s shortlist. After winning the World Cup with Argentina, Martinez is interested in playing at the highest level, so Chelsea could be the right spot for him. If Chelsea fails to sign Martinez, other options could be David Raya from Brentford and Inter Milan’s Andre Onana.
One of the most sought-after players in the upcoming summer should be West Ham’s Declan Rice. The English international has risen to one of the best players in his position, so it is believed that Chelsea will have to pay more than 100 million euros to lure him to Stamford Bridge.
On the other hand, Chelsea will have to offload a lot of players to balance the books. They are one of the teams on UEFA’s Financial Fair Play watchlist, so Chelsea will likely sell at least seven or eight players in the upcoming transfer window. The team could even part company with Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic; two players who have played a major role in previous years.
It is clear that Chelsea needs a considerable rebuild, so it is hard to expect great things for the club from the start. Still, Mauricio Pochettino is one of the managers who could get the West London club on the right track.
Champions League runner-up | 2018/19 | Tottenham Hotspur |
Trophee des Champions | 2020 | PSG |
Coupe de France title | 2020/21 | PSG |
Ligue 1 champions | 2021/22 | PSG |