Chelsea contact ex-Barcelona star to replace Mauricio Pochettino as head coach: Reports

Chelsea have contacted former Barcelona star Thiago Motta about replacing Mauricio Pochettino as their head coach, according to journalist Eleonora Trotta of Calcio Mercato.

Motta is currently the head coach of Serie A side Bologna, who have been outperforming all expectations under the Italian. The side currently sit fourth in the Serie A with 63 points after 34 games, four points ahead of Roma and will qualify for the 2024-25 Champions League as things stand.

41-year-old Motta was also a top-quality defensive midfielder during his 17-year playing career. He played 231 games for Paris Saint-Germain, 147 games for Barcelona and also turned out for Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid.

According to Trotta, Juventus have been in contact with the Italian for months now, but Chelsea have become the latest big club to establish contact with him. She wrote:

“Thiago Motta to Juventus: in recent days there has been a survey, not in-depth, by Chelsea for the coach of Bologna, who has been in agreement for months with the Bianconeri regarding the new course.”

Pochettino has come under severe fire after a disappointing 2023-24 season with Chelsea so far. The Blues sit in a dismal ninth place in the Premier League and recently crashed out of the FA Cup in a 1-0 semi-final loss to Manchester City.

With the Argentine also having issues managing such a big squad at Stamford Bridge, rumors are rife about his dismissal in the summer. It will be interesting to see if Chelsea's American owner Todd Boehly seriously considers chasing the services of the ever-impressive Motta.

"Yes, for sure" - Chelsea star reveals that the dressing room still backs manager Mauricio Pochettino

Chelsea full-back Marc Cucurella revealed that the dressing room still backs Argentine manager Mauricio Pochettino amidst rumors of his potential sacking.

In a season where the Blues were expecting to quell their European blues and qualify for the Champions League, they are heavily underperforming. They recently lost 5-0 to London rivals and title challengers Arsenal and barely scraped a 2-2 draw against UCL hopefuls Aston Villa.

They did show some character in the latter and almost came back to win the game. Speaking to Evening Standard after that spirited comeback, Cucurella revealed that the dressing room was in agreement about Pochettino continuing at the club. He said:

“Yes, for sure [we want him to stay]. He spoke very well at half-time and all the people saw the team’s reaction. A lot of the games we don’t win - and that is part of the game - but I think it is more the whole problem because we have the quality and maybe we don’t show what we can do.”

Time will tell if Todd Boehly shares similar sentiments about Pochettino and continues to keep the faith in him beyond the upcoming summer.