Mauricio Pochettino signs three-year deal to become new Chelsea manager

Mauricio Pochettino has agreed to become the next Chelsea manager, signing what is believed to be a three-year deal.

The Argentine former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain boss is expected to take the reins at Stamford Bridge next week, replacing interim manager Frank Lampard.

The 51-year-old has been out of work since he parted company with PSG at the end of last season.

It is believed he had made a verbal agreement last month to take over at Chelsea before flying from Spain to London to put pen to paper on a contract on Sunday.

Chelsea's season has been a disaster, with the club finishing in the bottom half of the table despite spending more than £600 million on players since new owner Todd Boehly and his consortium bought the club for £4.25 billion from Roman Abramovich in May last year.

The club were knocked out of this season's League Cup in the third round after losing to Manchester City and were dumped out of the FA Cup at the same stage after a 4-0 thrashing by Pep Guardiola's side.

The board sacked Thomas Tuchel, who won them the Champions League in 2021, in March and replaced him with Brighton manager Graham Potter.

Potter, who lasted just seven months and 31 games in the job, was sacked on April 3, shortly before Chelsea's Champions League quarter-final clash with Real Madrid. They lost 4-0 on aggregate to the Spanish giants.

Bruno Saltor came in for one game before Lampard was appointed as interim boss on April 6. The former Chelsea midfielder lost his first six games in charge before finally overseeing a victory against Bournemouth on May 6.

Asked about Chelsea's future under a new manager after their 4-1 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford last week, Lampard said: “I wish the new manager