Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has claimed he likes seeing the team’s owners visit their dressing rooms after games.

Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly, the other co-owners of the Blues, are said to have talked to the team following the team’s most recent 1-0 loss to Aston Villa.

Fans are split at Eghbali’s unexpected visit, but Pochettino reassured them that he had no issues with owners being in the locker room.

“I like when the owners come,” he told Tuesday’s press conference. “In all my career at Espanyol, Southampton, with Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain.

“I think it’s good that the owner came to the dressing room, it’s the way in which they approach the players is most important. If they are in a good way and the correct way, they are very welcome. After my press conference, after all of the media, the game against Aston Villa, they came and shared with us.

“They also did it with Liverpool and Luton and Nottingham Forest. They came with Paul [Winstanley] and Laurence [Stewart, co-sporting directors], Behdad and sometimes Todd also and we talk about the game. I don’t see in a bad way. For me it’s good always if they share with us and then can say hello to the players. If they came for a speech, that is different. In the way they came, they are very welcome. They own the club, I think they can do what they want.

“They are in a very good way, we are glad they shared time with us. When we win and it’s good things, and to share when we are suffering like on Sunday.”

The Carabao Cup match between Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion is on Wednesday, so Pochettino’s attention is now on instilling confidence in a Blues team that has dropped to 14th in the Premier League.

“Confidence in one aspect is to score goals,” he began. “We need to be more natural.

“When you watch the game and every single time to create chances, it’s not only about your positional game, your movement, if you play with one or two strikers, or different characteristics of the game, it’s most important to be natural. In all the aspects, the team show confidence and belief in the way we play, how we build and our organisation when we don’t have the ball because we don’t concede too many goals and too many chances. Always in an offensive way we need to be more natural.

“We were talking a lot in the last two days and we are going to work hard and remain positive. The idea when you start the season and plan the objective and the squad, always you think in the very best scenario for the team. For different circumstances we are not in the very best situation. The important thing is to have experience and to keep calm and to keep working. The most important thing is to identify the problem. The problem is we are not clinical in front of the goal. We are only missing that, if not, for sure we are talking in a different way.”

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Chelsea have confirmed the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as the club’s new first-team head coach.

The former manager of Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur has agreed to a two-year deal with the club, with Chelsea holding the option for an additional year.

The men’s squad will have Mauricio Pochettino as their head coach commencing with the 2023–24 season, the Chelsea Football Club is happy to announce.

Pochettino is a coach known for the high-energy and captivating style of his teams, and he has developed a reputation for assisting young players in reaching their full potential with a strong collective mentality.

The 51-year-old has coached in Spain and France in addition to numerous seasons of Premier League experience. He most recently served as manager of Paris Saint-Germain, when he led the team to Ligue 1 and Coupe de France championships.

Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez, and Sebastiano Pochettino will be on Mauricio’s staff.

Speaking to the club’s official website after announcing the appointment, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, Chelsea’s co-sporting directors, said:

‘Mauricio’s experience, standards of excellence, leadership qualities and character will serve Chelsea Football Club well as we move forward.  He is a winning coach, who has worked at the highest levels, in multiple leagues and languages. His ethos, tactical approach and commitment to development all made him the exceptional candidate.’

Club owners Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, José E. Feliciano, Mark Walter and Hansjörg Wyss said:

‘The sporting team conducted a diligent and thoughtful process that the Board is proud of. We are delighted that Mauricio will be joining Chelsea. Mauricio is a world-class coach with an outstanding track record. We are all looking forward to having him on board.’

Chelsea Football Club is pleased to announce Mauricio Pochettino as the club’s new head coach!

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 29, 2023

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Frank Lampard has made a surprising comeback to Chelsea, with the club appointing him as interim manager following Graham Potter’s dismissal.

The 44-year-old, who played for 13 years in west London, has reacted to an SOS from his former employers after they were forced to look for a new manager once more.

Potter was sacked after just 31 games as manager, and despite having close relationships with players like Luis Enrique and Julian Nagelsmann, no permanent replacement has been named before the conclusion of the 2022–23 season.

It has offered Lampard the chance to take full control once more, nearly two years after the Blues gave him his own marching orders.

The former England player was sacked by Everton in January of this year after serving as manager at Goodison Park for a year after leaving a significant Premier League position in January 2021 with 44 victories from 84 games in charge.

Co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali told the club’s official website: “We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge. Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club. As we continue our thorough and exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season.

“We want to give ourselves every chance of success and Frank has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line. We have an important game against Wolves on Saturday and then we will turn our attention to our Champions League quarter-final in Madrid next week. We are all going to give Frank our full backing as we aim to get the best possible outcome from all our remaining games.”

According to multiple sources, including Sportsmail, the former midfielder allegedly arrived back in Cobham on Thursday to partake in his first training with his new team.

Together with Joe Edwards and Paul Clement, who have previously lived in west London, he will be joined by fellow Blues icon Ashley Cole.

Frank Lampard returns as Caretaker Manager until the end of the season. 🤝

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 6, 2023

Lampard’s appointment means N’Golo Kante will play under four different managers (Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Bruno Saltor and Lampard) in five consecutive matches, due to his long-term injury which saw him out of action between August and March.

Lampard takes over as manager of a team that has received £600 million ($748 million) in investment over the course of the previous two transfer windows as Chelsea sits 11th in the Premier League rankings.

In his first game back, the Blues will travel to Wolves on Saturday. The first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal matchup with Real Madrid will take place at Santiago Bernabeu the following Wednesday.

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Chelsea have signed Enzo Fernandez for a British record fee of £107 million after reaching an agreement with Benfica late on deadline day.

The eye-watering lunge for Chelsea’s No. 1 January target entered the last minutes of the transfer window on Tuesday, with both clubs locked in talks over the move for the Argentina international.

At one point, it looked as though Chelsea would fail to get the deal for the 22-year-old World Cup winner over the line – but both parties finally made a breakthrough just minutes before the 11 pm deadline. Fernandez will sign an eight-and-a-half-year deal through to June 2031.

Benfica confirmed the move in a statement in the early hours of Wednesday morning after the clubs completed the necessary paperwork prior to the deadline. The Portuguese club also removed Fernandez from their list of players on the club website.

Benfica have officially confirmed the transfer of Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea for €121million:

“Sport Lisboa e Benfica – Futebol, SAD reports that it has reached an agreement with Chelsea FC for the sale of all the rights of the player Enzo Fernández, for an amount of €121,000,000 [one hundred and twenty-one million euros].”

“It is further informed that Chelsea FC will have the right to retain the 3.78% solidarity mechanism for subsequent distribution to the clubs that participated in the player’s formation.”

“In addition, Benfica SAD will have charges for intermediation services of 6.56% of the value of the sale deducted from the amount of solidarity and will also have to deliver to River Plate the amount corresponding to 25% of the transfer value…”

The Blues teased an announcement by changing their Twitter bio to an Argentina flag followed by a trophy emoji.

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Chelsea’s co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali – who also sanctioned Jorginho’s move to Arsenal on Tuesday – led negotiations for the World Cup winner with Benfica from London.

Sources had earlier said that Chelsea might come up just short and were prepared to focus on completing a summer move for Fernandez since it was too difficult to close a deal for this season.

But considering the club’s resolve to complete the relocation in January, Tuesday night’s agreement was welcomed with great relief.

Chelsea wanted to pay in six instalments, including one larger up-front payment.

However, Benfica initially demanded that Chelsea fulfil Fernandez’s £105 million release clause all at once. Talks on Tuesday were primarily aimed at negotiating that obstacle, with Chelsea offering to reduce the number of instalments.

It’s thought that Benfica was willing to accept a payment plan with three instalments spread out over two years, and a compromise was eventually achieved. Fernandez had always been open to moving, but out of respect for Benfica, he has chosen to keep out of any discussions.

Despite the holdup, Chelsea set up a private plane to transfer him to England and prepared for his medical in Portugal. On Wednesday morning, after completing the necessary documentation, he is scheduled to board the flight.

Benfica left the 22-year-old out of their squad to face Arouca on Tuesday and he also missed training on Monday. Personal terms had already been agreed upon.

With the signing, Chelsea has already spent more than £323 million in January.

Jorginho was also sold by the Blues to Arsenal in a deal for up to £12 million on a pivotal day for the Stamford Bridge team. On Monday, the Gunners turned to the Italian after giving up on their attempt to recruit Brighton’s, Moises Caicedo.

The midfielder, who signed an 18-month contract with a one-year option, will cost them an initial £10 million.

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According to reports, Chelsea have agreed a British record deal worth £115m with Benfica for Enzo Fernandez.

This January, Fernandez was one of Chelsea’s top transfer priorities, but up until now, their attempts to recruit the World Cup champion have been unsuccessful.

After negotiations stopped earlier in the window, as reported last week that Benfica was expecting Chelsea to make a fresh offer. The Blues did indeed return to the bargaining table over the weekend.

Early on Monday, there was optimism that a deal was close to being finalized, with co-owner Behdad Eghbali and transfer director Paul Winstanley leading the effort. Both men were instrumental in luring Mykhailo Mudryk away from Shakhtar Donetsk.

And according to reports, an arrangement was reached after those discussions, with Chelsea promising to pay more than Fernandez’s £105 million release clause so that Benfica would take payment in instalments.

RELATED:

• Chelsea feel talks with Enzo Fernandez have advanced significantly.
• Chelsea renew their pursuit of top January target Enzo Fernandez.
• Everton make £45m bid for Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher

Rui Costa merely needs to give his approval to the transfer after openly stating on numerous occasions that 22-year-old Fernandez wouldn’t leave Benfica unless it was on the conditions of the Portuguese powerhouses.

Once all payments have been made to Benfica, the transfer might end up costing Chelsea a British record-breaking £115 million, surpassing the £100 million Manchester City spent Aston Villa for Jack Grealish in the summer of 2021.

There is still time for the deal to be completed before the winter transfer window closes on Tuesday night, even if Fernandez skipped training with Benfica on Monday. Personal conditions had long been agreed upon with Fernandez.

Conor Gallagher and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are two players who could now be moved on by the club’s hierarchy amid a flurry of Premier League interest as a result of the breakthrough in negotiations.

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According to reports, Chelsea believes they have made substantial progress in their discussions with Benfica regarding midfielder Enzo Fernandez.

Earlier in the transfer season, the Blues made an attempt to sign Fernandez, but their pursuit infuriated Benfica, whose manager Roger Schmidt called Chelsea’s actions “disrespectful” before announcing that the 22-year-old would only be transferred if his €120 million release clause is activated.

On Sunday, Chelsea had reopened negotiations with Benfica, the team that won the World Cup’s Young Player of the Tournament award, and the Blues were ready to improve their first offer.

Chelsea are still exploring a deal which would allow them to pay in instalments, and privately, Benfica are understood to be prepared to accept a structured deal as long as it includes a significant up-front payment.

RELATED:

• Everton make £45m bid for Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher
• Benfica boss discloses Enzo Fernandez’s transfer decision after new Chelsea bid
• Chelsea renew their pursuit of top January target Enzo Fernandez.

The Blues have stated a willingness to spend over €120 million in a structured transaction during the most recent round of negotiations, which are reportedly being headed by Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali, although discussions regarding how that sum would be split are still ongoing.

The final decision on a sale will be left to Benfica president Rui Costa.

Fernandez has expressed his willingness to join Chelsea this month, as he did during the first round of discussions, and the London club does not foresee any issues on the personal front considering their earlier window communications with the midfielder’s agency.

Chelsea also remain interested in Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, who has publicly asked to leave the club this month.

The Ecuadorian international is not available for transfer this month, as the Seagulls have informed all interested parties. The Seagulls have already rejected two offers from Arsenal, the most recent of which was around £65 million plus $5 million in add-ons.

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