Pochettino is reportedly at 'serious risk' of being sacked after defeat in the Carabao Cup final closed off a route to Europe
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For all the money that's been spent on players since Todd Boehly's takeover in May 2022, Chelsea look no closer to becoming a major force in European football once more.
After finishing in the bottom half last season, Mauricio Pochettino was appointed with the intention of galvanising a talented young squad and leading them to glory over the coming years.
His first campaign has shown flickers of promise but failure to beat an inexperienced Liverpool side in Sunday's Carabao Cup final has raised fresh doubts about the manager's future.
The disappointment at failing to claim a first piece of silverware under the new owners was compounded by also missing out on a place in next season's Europa League.
That leaves Chelsea reliant on success in the FA Cup, or a drastic change of fortunes in the Premier League, to ensure they qualify for European competition next season.
As a result, the pressure on Pochettino has increased heading into the season's closing stages, with speculation that Roberto De Zerbi could be the man to replace him.
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Nicolo Schira reports that Chelsea are keeping an eye on De Zerbi's situation having already raided Brighton for several key positions in recent times.
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In addition to appointing De Zerbi's predecessor, Graham Potter, as manager, the Blues have also poached a number of key backroom staff from Brighton, including Paul Winstanley and Sam Jewell.
On the playing front, Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez and Moises Caicedo have been signed from the Seagulls for large fees totalling around £200 million.
Despite this free-spending approach, Chelsea remain four points behind Brighton in the table, albeit with a game in hand.
Sean Cole is a freelance journalist. He has written for FourFourTwo, BBC Sport and When Saturday Comes among others. A Birmingham City supporter and staunch Nikola Zigic advocate, he once scored a hat-trick at St. Andrew’s (in a half-time game). He also has far too many football shirts and spends far too much time reading the Wikipedia pages of obscure players.
