Next season, Mauricio Pochettino will return after a four-year absence, with Jurgen Klopp’s first Premier League opponent taking over at Chelsea.
On Saturday night, Pochettino reportedly reached an agreement to lead Chelsea, according to numerous reports, including David Ornstein of The Athletic.
After Graham Potter was fired in April, the Argentine was long linked to the position; it is now only a matter of time before his appointment is announced.
After a season that demonstrated “you cannot just bring top players together and think it works out,” Klopp has already stated his expectations that Chelsea “will be incredibly strong next year.”
Now, Pochettino must manage a bloated team assembled by co-owner Todd Boehly and preside over a possible fire-sale that might result in Mason Mount moving to Anfield.
And remarks made by the Liverpool manager following Pochettino’s firing by Tottenham in 2019 imply that Klopp will give him the support he needs to succeed.
After Jose Mourinho took over for Pochettino, he said, “I hope he can enjoy it. We played each other in the Champions League final about five months ago.
“Nobody questions his ability as a coach; he did a fantastic job at Tottenham. Wonderful person, both left and right of the games. The contests we had with one another were really fun for me.
“We have a long history together—my first match in the Premier League was against him.
“But everyone is aware that Mauricio will be competing for essentially all positions, whether they are available or not.”
James Milner was the only member of his squad that day who was still with the club when Liverpool’s first match under Klopp’s leadership ended in a 0-0 draw away to Pochettino’s Tottenham.
After that deadlock, they faced off 10 more times, with the Reds winning just once, a 4-1 loss at Spurs’ temporary home of Wembley that forced Klopp to throw out his playbook and transition to a new era of success.
In spite of the fact that Pochettino was fired six months after their previous encounter, which took place during the Champions League final in Madrid, his reputation was untarnished.
As Klopp predicted, Paris Saint-Germain approached him for a top job in 2021, and Chelsea has chosen to make him the latest in a long line of head coaches.
With two games remaining, Chelsea is now mathematically safe from relegation, allowing Klopp to look forward to his next matchup with Pochettino.
