Erik ten Hag’s future at Manchester United might be decided after the FA Cup final but dominos around him are falling.
Just days after Roberto de Zerbi announced his departure from Brighton and Hove Albion in unexpected circumstances, another shocker has superseded it.
David Ornstein reports that Mauricio Pochettino has left Chelsea by mutual consent with immediate effect.
The Argentinian met the club hierarchy and after the end-of-season review, the decision was taken to part ways.
Chelsea’s decision is set to have huge consequences for United, with not only a potential replacement for Ten Hag appearing out of nowhere, but Chelsea’s potential list of targets co-incide with United’s.
The report states that Chelsea will look to replace Pochettino with Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna, with Sebastian Hoeness of Stuttgart and Girona’s Michel also among the contenders.
United have been linked with McKenna endlessly but in a twist of events, Chelsea’s departed manager might become INEOS’ top choice.
Pochettino has long been linked with the United job and he remains an INEOS favourite.
However, there wasn’t much expectation of him leaving Chelsea, especially since the Blues had kicked on in the second half of the season.
From being in the bottom-half of the table, Chelsea had surged ahead of United, eventually finishing sixth.
Pochettino’s stock remains high in world football as Chelsea’s executive structure remains under question. Chelsea’s underlying metrics remained positive in stark contrast to United’s under Ten Hag.
If the FA Cup final wasn’t crucial already for Ten Hag, then add the spectre of Mauricio Pochettino being available in the market to it.
The dominos around him are falling quickly, can INEOS resist to pull the trigger on the Dutchman’s fate?
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