Mauricio Pochettino has warned his Chelsea players that Luton will get the better of them at Stamford Bridge on Friday night if they fail to match the desire to win of Rob Edwards’ newly promoted side.

The manager recalled one of his early games in charge of Espanyol when he took his team to the Nou Camp and staged a famous victory against Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona en route to masterminding the team’s La Liga survival.

That 2-1 win in February 2009, earned thanks to two goals from midfielder Ivan de la Pena as Espanyol ended a 27-year wait for a victory at the home of their city rivals, announced Pochettino’s arrival as a coach and was a springboard for dragging his new team out of the relegation zone to safety.

It went down as one of the shocks of the LaLiga season in Spain, particularly as Barcelona were en route to winning a domestic and European treble in what was Guardiola’s first season in charge.

Pochettino prepares his side to welcome Luton in rather less swashbuckling form, still seeking a first win under his tenure following a draw and a defeat in his first two games in charge and grappling with the problem of integrating a flux of summer recruits.

Defeat to the Hatters, who last won in the league at Stamford Bridge in 1986 and are yet to pick up a point in their debut Premier League season, would add to the noise surrounding Pochettino’s Chelsea rebuild, with the club having spent more than £350million on nine new signings so far this summer.

In contrast, Luton have paid out around £20m on transfers during the last 18 months, but the Chelsea manager was quick to remind his players of football’s unique propensity for springing upsets.

“It’s the beauty of football. In the pre-season I was talking with (Brighton manager) Roberto De Zerbi, he’s a good friend. I said ‘look, I was at Southampton and at Espanyol. Sometimes you face Real Madrid and you cannot complain, because I know how you feel when you face this type of team’.

“I was on one side, now I am on another. I understand. Sometimes people will say ‘you need to win 4-0 or 5-0’ before the start of the game. But it’s the beauty of football. At Espanyol we beat the dream team of Barcelona with Lionel Messi and Xavi and (Andres) Iniesta. It is similar (to) Luton and Chelsea. It’s the beauty of football.

“I was telling the players today in the meeting. We need to match the same will as the players of Luton. If we match all this, then we presume that we have better quality for us to win. But if not the game can be crazy. Maybe we can win or we can lose. That is football. It happens more here in the Premier League.

“It was the first time the bottom team had beaten the top team. It had never happened in the past. It was amazing, Espanyol in the Camp Nou. It was a little but lucky, we had some help also.

“There’s nothing to lose (for Luton). You go there, we were Espanyol and we said we don’t care about making a mistake. We need to be brave. (But) I don’t want to give the Luton coach all the strategies.

“It can only happen in football. You can see basketball, NFL, you see the quality of the players and you say (one team) it’s impossible, you cannot do it. In football you can shoot 30 times and not score, and they can shoot only once and score. In other sports, it’s impossible.

“Football is about belief, being together and (showing) fight, and then the quality that you have, if you match this, it’s about the players. If you don’t match this, the game is going to be over.”

It was near the end of the transfer window last season that former manager Thomas Tuchel talked of there being “a curse” on Chelsea’s number nine shirt, such has been the club’s lack of success with strikers in recent seasons.

Pochettino acknowledged that the door may not be fully closed on Romelu Lukaku’s future at Stamford Bridge if a deal cannot be reached to sell him before the end of the window, although the player is eager to leave and unlikely to prove the answer to the team’s goalscoring woes unless his relationship with the club improves.

The manager said the club remain in the market for another attacking option but only if a player of the hight profile becomes available.

Summer signing Christopher Nkunku is out until December and the number nine shirt is currently not assigned.

“I didn’t hear about the curse,” said Pochettino. “We need to do something to try to change the energy. I’ll ask the kitman to bring all the number nine shirts and we’ll do some cleaning, energetic thing.

“If we bring a new striker I’ll be sure he gets the number nine to try and change the feeling that this number is not welcome.”

Mauricio Pochettino has warned big transfer fees will not guarantee players a place in Chelsea’s starting XI after the club’s summer spending surpassed £350million.

Significant headway was made earlier in the window on reducing the size of a squad that was heavily bloated last season, but eight incoming signings together with players returning from loan has meant the size of the first team remains almost unchanged.

Southampton’s Romeo Lavia and long-time target Moises Caicedo, signed on Monday from Brighton for a British record £115million, are the latest recruits to Pochettino’s playing staff.

Graham Potter and Frank Lampard both voiced their frustration at the negative effect that having too many available players had on their job last season and Pochettino has already found himself fielding similar queries.

The manager was bullish in his response ahead of Sunday’s trip to face West Ham, placing responsibility firmly at the door of his new recruits to repay the club’s faith and financial outlay in order to force themselves into his plans.

“Players that aren’t happy and don’t want to fight for their place, to be part of the team, playing or not playing, the door is open (to leave),” he said.

“The players have a clear idea that they need to compete for their place and then it’s the coach that is going to decide who are the best for every single game.

“It’s not that (if) we sign a player and we spend big money, that they are sure to play. I don’t tell Moises or Lavia ‘you are going to play, (whether) you are good or bad’. It’s not like this, football.

“Talented players, players that the club spends money on, they need to show every day that they deserve to play.

“My job is to be fair with everyone in the squad. You sign a player on an eight-year contract and after (that) he doesn’t run, is not involved, no commitment – is he going play? That is our job. It’s our judgement.

“I have the support of the owner, I have the support of the sporting director, so far. They need to trust in our judgement. It’s not the people of social media, it’s our judgement.”

Chelsea have pursued a policy of awarding unusually long contracts during the ownership of Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium, with deals of between six and eight years now commonplace at the club.

Pochettino was asked how easy it would be to get rid of players on lengthy deals who are unwilling to work for their place in the side.

“If you have an eight-year contract, you need to be responsible,” he said.

“Players need to show respect, need to show commitment, need to show the performance that we expect from them. If not, they’re not going to play.

“The player cannot be upset. If we sign a player and give an eight-year contract and then the player is not going to do what we expect or what he needs to do and then he doesn’t play, it’s because of him, not because of us.

“They need to give their best and for sure if they have the talent that we assume and we paid for them, they are going to play.”

Chelsea's new recruits are perfectly suited to playing under Mauricio Pochettino, according to Gus Poyet, who believes the Blues could surprise their Premier League rivals this season.

Chelsea have continued to invest heavily ahead of their second full season under the Todd Boehly regime, spending an estimated £328million on Moises Caicedo, Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson and others during the current transfer window.

Former Brighton and Hove Albion star Caicedo became the most expensive player in Premier League history when he joined the Blues in a £115m deal this week, with fellow midfielder Romeo Lavia also arriving from Southampton for £58m.

While Chelsea's costly recruitment policy has attracted plenty of criticism, former Blues favourite Poyet feels they have acquired players likely to excel under Pochettino.

"Obviously they have a new coach. They have too many new players," Poyet told Stats Perform. 

"They're very young and normally the young players have that stamina, they are going to run and create, but then you have that dip in form.

"The thing that I am the most pleased about, thinking about the coach, is they are made for Pochettino. 

"Young players that need to be built, that need to be coached, that need to feel part of a group and have togetherness… things that Pochettino does tremendously well. 

"A few weeks ago, I was worried. Now I've got a feeling that maybe they can be the surprise. I'm not saying they can win the title, but the surprise in terms of how they're going to develop."

Chelsea produced a positive display in their season opener last Sunday, enjoying 64.9 per cent of the possession and creating five big chances in an entertaining 1-1 draw with Liverpool.

Conor Gallagher partnered Enzo Fernandez in the heart of Chelsea's midfield for that game, but Poyet believes Caicedo's arrival can take the Blues to a different level.

"I think was quite a good call from Pochettino to play Fernandez a little bit further forward," he said. "For that, you need a proper sitting number six, which Gallagher did the other day. 

"I think Gallagher did tremendously, he made two or three unbelievable tackles to recover the ball in difficult circumstances, but they're looking for that athletic South American that can cover the pitch and be good on the ball. 

"[Caicedo] learned a lot with Roberto De Zerbi about positioning and passing, so I think they have an incredible group of players that just need to gel or to find the right system."

Poyet – who coached Brighton between 2009 and 2013 – also believes the transfer represents a remarkable piece of business for the Seagulls, adding: "I want to talk about Brighton, who are outstanding with their recruitment system.

"To have players from everywhere in the world and sell them for the amount of money they are selling them for is tremendous."

Mauricio Pochettino would not be drawn on whether he would push for Chelsea to reunite him with England captain Harry Kane as he was formally unveiled as manager at Stamford Bridge.

The pair enjoyed success during their days together at Tottenham, reaching the Champions League final in 2019, and the Argentinian was pressed on whether he would look to Kane to try and revive his new side’s ailing attack.

Chelsea scored only 38 league goals last season, their worst return in almost a hundred years, as they finished a dismal 12th in the Premier League.

They have already added RB Leipzig forward Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal, and the manager said the club are still looking to do more business to improve their front line.

But he stopped short of saying he would ask the club to bid for Kane, who scored 30 times in the league last season and, with Spurs not qualifying for Europe, has been the subject of interest from Bayern Munich.

“You are talking about one of the greatest strikers in the world,” said Pochettino. “I think it’s too unfair to talk (about a player at another club). The most important thing is that fans are not stupid. They are so clever. They know my relationship with him was always amazing.

“I saw him when he was young and grow up and achieve all that he was achieving. We have a great relationship.

“At the moment, we are thinking (in the transfer market) in a different way. We are not thinking that. We’re working hard to try to provide the squad with good quality.

“We are working on that and still we have time to work. For sure we are going to add players that can score and we are going to find the best way to play.”

The club have begun a significant overhaul of their squad since the transfer window re-opened, with players leaving to slim down the squad and trim the wage bill.

Mason Mount and N’Golo Kante have led an exodus of nine first-team players to depart so far, but the club remain in the market for recruits as they look to address last season’s crisis of form in front of goal.

“Football is really dynamic,” said Pochettino. “What we have today maybe tomorrow disappears. We need to be ready if we need more or not or maybe we go through the pre-season and we realise we need to improve in different positions or add more players that can score.

“It’s really dynamic and we’re going to assess every single day the situation.”

The manager added that Chelsea’s owners will need to check in with him before paying visits to the Stamford Bridge dressing room as he was formally unveiled as the club’s new manager.

Co-controlling owner Todd Boehly frequently entered the dressing room under successive head coaches last season, telling the players after a defeat to Brighton in April that their season had been “embarrassing.”

Pochettino began work at Cobham on Monday just over a month after he was confirmed as permanent successor to Graham Potter, who Boehly sacked just seven months after appointing him.

The Argentinian is tasked with resurrecting the club after they suffered their worst season in 29 years last campaign, finishing 12th and failing to mount a credible challenge for silverware despite the owner’s Clearlake Capital consortium forking out over £600million on transfers.

Pochettino said he felt it was his responsibility to create the kind of culture where people clearly understand their place and function in the wider collective.

“We need to understand that they own the football club,” he said when asked whether the hierarchy would be welcome on his watch to address the players post-match.

“We need to respect that. The thing is to talk about how we need to behave because that is an important thing.

“The culture of football in England is a lot to understand. My responsibility also is to help and to add our knowledge and capacity to create this culture where everyone knows how to behave in different situations.

“For me, more than welcome if the owner comes to the dressing room, to the training ground. But always they need to communicate with myself, I need to know, and to prepare the people to receive.

“In here (the dressing room) it’s really special in England. Maybe in another country it’s different, but here it’s this way.

“The manager has some influence in all football clubs, for the fans, for the players, for the staff and the media. Altogether we need to create this. We are there to guide all the people that are involved in this football club, to try to create the best atmosphere and try to work and perform in the best way.

“I am more than happy if they are close to us. But they are the owners. The players, the fans, the media – the coach is who decides how things are going to work in the dressing room, on the pitch, on the training ground.  Also with the sporting directors, we create the line to follow.”

Former captain John Terry tweeted on Friday that he has re-joined the club working with the academy.

The 42-year-old won five Premier League titles with Chelsea as well as the 2012 Champions League.

Elano believes Newcastle United "will become powerful in Europe" after they qualified for next season's Champions League.

The Magpies finished fourth in Eddie Howe's first full term at St James' Park, their highest top-flight finish since the 2002-03 campaign under Bobby Robson.

Howe was appointed in 2021 shortly after Newcastle were taken over by a Saudi-backed consortium with the club spending over £200million in the transfer market since, a number that is sure to increase in the upcoming window ahead of a busy fixture list next season.

Elano, who scored 14 goals in 62 Premier League appearances for Manchester City between 2007 and 2009, feels the huge financial backing for Howe should see them become major players in Europe.

"Things are getting much more equal," Elano told Stats Perform. "Especially the clubs that didn't have the structure of [Manchester] United, Arsenal, Chelsea, who were the winning clubs.

"Newcastle, for example, who are in the Champions League, are also a powerful club. And they will become powerful in Europe, because they have the money for that. It is a club with an absurd growth margin."

Elano revealed he wanted to wear Newcastle's colours after facing them and maintains the Magpies can catch up to the Premier League's elite clubs.

"I confess to you that I wanted to play for Newcastle," Elano added. "I played a few games against Newcastle and I saw the quality of the fans, the stadium and the structure of the club.

"In world football, today, whoever doesn't have the training structure, the staff, the club structure, will be left behind.

"If we look at the Premier League, Liverpool didn't fight for the title. Arsenal were six or seven points ahead and lost the title. [Manchester] United were almost out [of the Champions League] again. Chelsea are out of the next Champions League.

"So, the organisation and the project of each club needs consistent work. Otherwise, whether it's the Premier League or any other league, clubs will fall behind."

In a career that also saw him play for the likes of Shakhtar Donetsk and Santos, attacking midfielder Elano made 50 appearances for his national team Brazil between 2004 and 2011.

With fellow South American native Mauricio Pochettino being appointed at Chelsea after the Blues finished in the bottom half of the Premier League last season, Elano says the former Tottenham boss must be given time to succeed after a tumultuous spell at Stamford Bridge.

"I think he can be successful if they give him time to work," Elano said. "If they detected that he should be the coach, they should give him time.

"A player, in three or four months, can be sold for £100million. Because in three months you can score goals, put in brilliant performances, then someone sees you and takes you. Not the coach. The coach in three months is formatting the team, setting up the team with his ideas.

"You get a team of 20 players, each one is different, each one has his own characteristics. And the coach has to put this together. It takes time."

New Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino will find he has a daunting in-tray once he gets to work at Stamford Bridge as the Blues look to bounce back from the wreckage of this season.

The job presents as many opportunities as it does challenges and a coach of Pochettino’s charisma, calibre and character will relish trying to mould solutions out of the current malaise.

Here, the PA news agency looks at what the former Tottenham and Paris St Germain boss has to get to grips with.

Slim down the squad…

Successive managers have reaped the chaos of the new Chelsea ownership’s scattergun approach to recruitment during the last 12 months and a significant clear-out is needed if the squad is to be anything like manageable.

Apart from the obvious logistical headache of trying to organise training with a bloated group that exceeds 30, there is the effect on morale that having so much surplus and deadwood will have around Cobham.

There is clearly no sense in the manager and his staff investing time and attention during sessions in players who are unlikely to feature, particularly when those currently comprising the starting XI present next to no cohesion.

Pochettino needs to figure out quickly who of the current crop has a role to play in his rebuild and who can be put towards easing the Financial Fair Play pressure the club is under.

… but persuade Joao Felix to stay

It might seem counter-productive considering the above but convincing the on-loan winger to turn his six-month loan stay from Atletico Madrid into a permanent one will be key.

It will likely mean tossing another hefty transfer fee into an already nightmarish FFP calculation, but Felix has been one of few recruits under new owner Todd Boehly who has shown something close to his best, albeit not consistently.

He has six months of acclimatising to the Premier League under his belt and, like Enzo Fernandez, has the potential under the right manager to become one of the best in the world.

Don’t write off Aubameyang and Lukaku

Despite the fact that only four Premier League teams this season have fewer goals – 19th-placed Leicester have outscored them by 13 – there are two strikers on Chelsea’s books that between them have scored almost 600 goals at the top level.

It has not worked out so far for either Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Romelu Lukaku at Stamford Bridge, but nor has much else during the two years since the club paid £97.5million to bring in Lukaku – currently on loan at Inter Milan – and Aubameyang’s time has been even more chaotic.

If the problem until now has been one of relationships, personnel and the lack of a settled environment then a new manager and staff could go some of the way towards wiping the slate clean for both players.

There is also a buy-back option on Tammy Abraham about to come into effect that, considering his success at Roma, might also be worth looking at given the lack of firepower.

Give supporters back that old Chelsea swagger

Part of the reason Graham Potter never looked a natural fit at Stamford Bridge was an absence of the self-assurance bordering on arrogance that defined some of the club’s most successful managers.

Title-winners Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte oozed entitlement – even though in reality their swagger was hard earned – whilst Carlo Ancelotti exhibited a confident coolness.

To supporters, Chelsea’s image is just one more part of their identity next to the haul of trophies from the last 20 years.

Pochettino has the personality to satisfy certain of those requirements. Whether he can do it whilst matching the success of that glittering trio will be the true test.

Mauricio Pochettino has "everything to succeed" in his first season if appointed as Chelsea's new head coach, according to former Blues winger Willian.

Pochettino has been out of management since being sacked as Paris Saint-Germain boss at the end of last season, but he is reportedly close to taking over at Stamford Bridge ahead of next campaign.

His rumoured arrival comes at the end of a tumultuous season for Chelsea, who have sacked Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter on the way to their lowest-ever points tally in the Premier League era.

But Willian, who won two Premier League titles as well as the Europa League during his seven-year spell with the Blues, believes Pochettino is the man to bring success back to the club.

"He is a great manager," Willian told Stats Perform. "He did a great job while he was at Tottenham and he has everything to succeed.

"Chelsea is a giant club, it's a club that is always used to winning titles. Chelsea might not win anything one year, but the next year they'll be fighting for a title.

"Chelsea has been winning titles this way for a few years now, and sometimes they don't do well in a league, but they win a European trophy or a cup.

"Chelsea is a club that will always fight for titles, and I think they have everything to fight for a title again next year."

Chelsea have spent over £600million in the transfer market since Todd Boehly's consortium took control of the club, including £323m on acquiring eight players in the January window alone.

Willian feels the new signings will come good, adding: "I think the team has quality players.

"They have signed a lot of players, but you can see they have a lot of quality players and I think they have everything to succeed, yes."

Willian now plies his trade with Chelsea's west London rivals Fulham, who have secured a top-half finish in a successful first Premier League campaign following their promotion last term, sitting nine points above the Blues with one game remaining.

Willian remembers his time at Stamford Bridge fondly, though, claiming they were the best years of a career that has also included spells at Arsenal and Shakhtar Donetsk.

"Chelsea was the best moment of my career," Willian said. "It was almost eight years, I won titles, I was very happy.

"Even before I was there, I already dreamed of playing for Chelsea. I watched Chelsea games on TV and I had this dream of playing there, and I was able to make that dream come true.

"For me, those were the best years of my career. Those were incredible years."

Chelsea are closing in on Mauricio Pochettino as they attempt to land a long-term replacement for Graham Potter.

The PA news agency understands the Blues are in talks with the 51-year-old former Tottenham and Paris St Germain boss over the vacancy created by Potter’s untimely exit last month, but that an agreement is yet to be formalised.

Frank Lampard has been in interim charge since, but the team have won just one of the eight games they have played under him in his second spell at the helm, a run which culminated in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have three Premier League fixtures remaining – against Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle – and want their new boss in place once the campaign is over.

The Blues have endured a desperately disappointing season despite substantial investment in the playing squad and sit in 11th place having managed just 11 wins in 35 league games.

Julian Nagelsmann was the initial favourite to replace Potter, but they turned to Lampard, who was in charge from July 2019 until January 2021 following a glittering playing career with the club, to see out the rest of the season.

Potter was jettisoned just seven months into a five-year contract, but Chelsea have also struggled under their former midfield general, who at one stage oversaw a six-game losing run in all competitions.

Former Argentina international Pochettino enjoyed a five-year spell at Tottenham, guiding them to the Champions League final in 2019, but has been out of the game since being shown the door by Paris St Germain last summer.

If – as expected – he is appointed by Chelsea, he will inherit an expensively assembled, but under-performing squad who will not have European football next season.

Chelsea are in talks with Mauricio Pochettino to take over as manager at the end of the season, the PA news agency understands.

A deal has yet to be signed but Pochettino is closing in on his first role since leaving Paris St Germain in July, succeeding interim head coach Frank Lampard.

Chelsea have three Premier League fixtures remaining – against Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle – and want their new boss in place once the campaign is over.

The Blues have endured a disappointing season and sit in 11th place having managed just 11 wins in 35 league games.

Graham Potter was sacked in April and while Julian Nagelsmann was the initial favourite to replace him, Chelsea turned to Lampard to see out the rest of the season in his second spell as manager.

Potter was jettisoned just seven months into a five-year contract but the club has also struggled under Lampard, who at one stage oversaw a six-game losing run in all competitions.

Former Argentina international Pochettino enjoyed a popular five-year spell as Tottenham manager, guiding Spurs to the Champions League final in 2019.

If – as expected – he is appointed by Chelsea, the 51-year-old will inherit an expensively assembled but under-performing squad who will not be competing in Europe next season.

What the papers say

Liverpool are hoping to sign Manchester City “outcast” Kalvin Phillips in a £35m deal this summer, the Daily Star says. Jurgen Klopp targeted the 27-year-old midfielder after being priced out of a move for Jude Bellingham.

Elsewhere, the Daily Telegraph reports Romelu Lukaku will be asked whether or not he wants to try to revive his Chelsea career under proposed permanent head coach Mauricio Pochettino. The 29-year-old striker has spent the season on loan at Inter Milan after making it clear that he no longer wanted to play for former head coach Thomas Tuchel.

In more Blues news, the Evening Standard says Frank Lampard will make himself available as a sounding board for Pochettino to help ensure a smooth transition. The former Tottenham manager is due to take over at the end of the season.

And according to The Sun, Eddie Howe will have up to £150million to bolster his Newcastle squad this summer. The Magpies are laying plans to prepare their squad for a Champions League campaign next season and are willing to spend between £100-150million.

Social media round-up

Top four = big spending for Howe this summer. And he has targets ? ? https://t.co/vjUB6mcTgt

— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) April 26, 2023

Lampard on Mount: “New deal for him? Not my opinion. It will be the opinion of the club and the opinion of Mason, so that's between them”. ?⭐️ #CFC

“There’s no doubt, he’s top-class player. Trust me, it’s not easy to play with top players around and he’s managed to do that”. pic.twitter.com/oczA2DJdny

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 25, 2023

Players to watch

Lionel Messi: 90min says Barcelona are “leaving no stone unturned” in their bid to re-sign the 35-year-old Argentina forward from Paris St-Germain but a deal will not be straightforward.

Andre Onana: Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport reports Chelsea are interested in signing the 27-year-old Cameroon goalkeeper from Inter Milan and could use Kepa Arrizabalaga, 28, as part of the deal.

Frank Lampard urged Chelsea's players to show "personal pride" and finish the season strongly as the club target Mauricio Pochettino to become their new head coach.

Injuries are set to keep Reece James and Mason Mount out of action for the rest of the season, Lampard revealed on Tuesday.

The loss of the England internationals comes as the latest blow in a wretched season for the club that has seen two head coaches, Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, lose their jobs.

Interim boss Lampard could also be replaced before the campaign ends, having overseen four defeats in four games since the club legend was asked to lead the team.

With Pochettino a firm contender to take charge, there may be a new man at the helm in the coming days or weeks.

What seems nigh-on certain is that Lampard will lead Chelsea in Wednesday's home game against fellow west London outfit Brentford.

The Bees are remarkably five points ahead of the wealthy Blues ahead of that fixture, and Lampard wants to see battling spirit from his 11th-placed side.

He broke the dismal news of the fresh injury setbacks at the beginning of Tuesday's pre-match press conference, saying: "Reece James is unavailable probably for the season, Mason Mount the same – potential for the last game of the season but probably not – so that's obviously disappointing for us.

"They're big players. Reece has a hamstring injury and Mason has been carrying this pelvic injury for quite a while. He's been trying typically, and medical staff have been trying, but we've got to the stage now where he will have minor surgery and then a four-week recovery."

Asked about the potential arrival of former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss Pochettino, Lampard said: "I'm not going to get involved in any future manager talk, because it's all speculation."

Lampard is unsure whether his short-term position will soon be affected by the club's efforts to appoint a coach, or whether he will continue to lead the team until the end of the season.

"I wouldn't expect anything in football, but I think it's very clear we've come into this club when it's in big difficulties," Lampard said.

He vowed he and his coaching staff would continue to try to draw the best from the expensively assembled Chelsea squad and called on the players to raise their games.

Two Champions League losses to Real Madrid and Premier League defeats to Wolves and Brighton have made it a disappointing start for Lampard.

"I have a big link to this club and pride, and so should the players," Lampard said, when asked whether Chelsea's season was effectively over.

"If you want to take it down your route, it's over, but on my route it's absolutely not over.

"I don't have a mentality that there's nothing to play for. I was fortunate to be a part of teams that were challenging normally for stuff towards the end of the season, but that's not a given. It's important that if you have a long career you won't compete absolutely every season, it's not a given.

"It comes down to your personal pride, responsibility, wearing the shirt. We've got seven games, four against the top four, three away from home.

"The run-in's really tough, there's no doubt about that. There's always something on those games. I understand that and the players have to understand that."

The race for Jude Bellingham's signature continues, with Liverpool having pulled out last week.

Numerous top clubs are keen on the 19-year-old England international who is contracted with Borussia Dortmund until 2025.

Bellingham signed his initial deal with Dortmund in 2020 but is set for a major pay rise if he moves or pens fresh terms.

TOP STORY – MADRID TO USE DIAZ IN BELLINGHAM DEAL

Real Madrid are plotting a potential player swap-plus-cash deal to land Jude Bellingham in the off-season, according to Cadena SER.

Los Blancos are investigating potentially using Brahim Diaz, currently on loan at Milan, in a deal to help reduce Dortmund's reported €150 million asking price.

Madrid are currently in the process of extending the stays of veteran midfielders Luka Modric and Toni Kroos.

ROUND-UP

- Manchester City are preparing a new contract offer for Erling Haaland to ward off rivals interest from top clubs such as Real Madrid, claims The Athletic.

- Rafael Leao wants to stay with Milan following interest from Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, according to Manchester Evening News.

- Newcastle United have established contact with Ousmane Dembele's representatives to discuss a move for the Barcelona winger, claims 90min.

- Arsenal and Newcastle United are both interested in Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby, per Le10Sport.

- The Telegraph reports Chelsea have opted against pursing Luis Enrique as their new manager, instead turning their attention to former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino. The Guardian claims Julian Nagelsmann remains Chelsea's top candidate.

- Tottenham will swoop on Chelsea's decision and look to appoint Enrique as Antonio Conte's replacement, according to The Express.

Mauricio Pochettino is the ideal man to take over at Chelsea in the eyes of Gary Neville.

The Blues are on the hunt for a new boss for the second time this season, having axed Graham Potter less than seven months after he succeeded Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea's defeat to Aston Villa proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back for Potter, the result sending the Blues into the bottom half of the Premier League standings and way off the pace in the hunt for European football next season.

Inconsistent form plagued Potter's reign in west London, with results not improving significantly after Todd Boehly splashed the cash in a mega spending spree in the January window.

Those mid-season recruits have somewhat complicated matters moving forward, with further spending likely to be restricted moving forward, meaning a new boss will likely have to deal with the hand he is dealt.

For that reason, Neville believes former Tottenham boss Pochettino is the ideal fit due to his experience in managing younger players.

"Based on what Boehly has said, Chelsea have done their spending for the next three years - apart from signing a centre forward," Neville told Sky Sports' Monday Night Football.

"If they appoint Zidane, Enrique or Diego Simeone, they're going to want to have another £300m as they won't like some of the players they've previously signed.

"They've got to appoint a manager who is going to inherit and like the squad that they've got, a lot of them are young, and I think that man is Mauricio Pochettino."

Chelsea sacked Graham Potter on Sunday after barely seven months as their manager.

Potter, who took over from Thomas Tuchel in September, led the Blues to 12 wins, eight draws and 11 defeats.

His demise comes amid numerous changes of managers at Premier League clubs, with Tottenham last week parting with Antonio Conte.

TOP STORY – CHELSEA APPROACH TOP CANDIDATE NAGELSMANN

Chelsea have identified ex-Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann as their top candidate and approached him already, claims Fabrizio Romano.

Romano said talks will be ongoing before a final decision, while he added the Blues hierarchy are admirers of Sporting boss Ruben Amorim.

However, Sky Sports Germany claims Nagelsmann is not interested in taking over at Chelsea.

TalkSPORT claims the dismissed Potter could be offered an immediate return to management by Leicester City who sacked Brendan Rodgers earlier on Sunday.

ROUND-UP

– AS claims that Paris Saint-Germain winger Kylian Mbappe has told the Real Madrid board that he intends to join Los Blancos as a free agent in 2024. According to the report, Madrid are not willing to negotiate a transfer fee with PSG, following their long-running interest in Mbappe, with the player needing to get out of his contract to move to the Spanish capital.

– Liverpool will consider an off-season move for Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher, reports The Independent.

– Fichajes claims Liverpool are also weighing up a surprise move for Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga.

– Football Insider claims Arsenal have identified three midfield targets in Everton's Amadou Onana, West Ham's Declan Rice and Brighton and Hove Albion's Moises Caicedo.

– Manchester United's hopes of signing Eintracht Frankfurt forward Randal Kolo Muani have been set back with the Frenchman keen to join Bayern Munich in the off-season.

Just 206 days after Chelsea owner Todd Boehly assured the world that incoming head coach Graham Potter would be given time at Chelsea, the American decided to terminate the former Brighton and Hove Albion boss' contract.

That is fewer days in charge than any permanent manager/head coach at Stamford Bridge during the Roman Abramovich era, but it was not a decision taken without reason.

Chelsea sit 11th in the Premier League, with 38 points from 28 games their worst total at this stage since the 1994-95 season (36), while the Blues are in the bottom half of the table after at least 28 games for the first time since 1995-96, when they finished 11th.

Potter won just 12 of his 31 games in charge after arriving from Brighton in September (D8 L11), ultimately paying the price after Chelsea's dismal 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday.

So who will Boehly turn to next having given up on the Potter project? Stats Perform has taken a look at some of the early favourites.

Julian Nagelsmann

The German will probably have been the first name many thought of when news of Potter's sacking broke on Sunday, with Nagelsmann facing the same fate at Bayern Munich just a few days prior.

It would be somewhat of a coincidence given the 35-year-old was replaced at Bayern by former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, who had been replaced at Stamford Bridge by Potter.

Nagelsmann has been one of the most highly-rated young coaches in Europe since his work at Hoffenheim, where he boasted a record of 55 wins from 136 games (40 per cent), before upping that win percentage at RB Leipzig to 57 (54 wins from 95 games).

That was enough to convince Bayern he should replace Hansi Flick in July 2021, but despite winning the Bundesliga in what proved to be his only full season at the Allianz Arena, and reaching the quarter-finals of this season's Champions League, the club removed him.

Several of his former players at Bayern praised him in the days since, but you do wonder if someone who was not deemed a good fit at a similarly sized and demanding club would be a good fit for Chelsea.

Brendan Rodgers

The former Liverpool and Leicester City boss was sacked by the Foxes just hours before Potter got his marching orders, and on paper it doesn't sound like it would be much of an improvement.

Rodgers almost won the Premier League title with Liverpool in 2013-14 before his team regressed the following season after selling Luis Suarez, but he repaired his reputation at the King Power Stadium.

He won the FA Cup in 2020-21, beating Chelsea 1-0 in the final, and ended his time with the Foxes with a record of 92 wins from 204 games (D42 L70), a win percentage of 45.

Rodgers did learn the ropes as a youth coach at Chelsea though, and is arguably more of the same should Boehly still like the idea of a Potter-type of coach who favours a mix of pressing and possession.

It does feel like a job a bit beyond the 50-year-old, though it was not that long ago that some pundits were suggesting Arsenal should sack Mikel Arteta and hire Rodgers. Football, eh?

Mauricio Pochettino

The Argentinian was a very popular figure during his time at Tottenham, and he has been strongly linked with succeeding Antonio Conte at his former club.

Pochettino may not have won a trophy at Spurs, but he presided over two title challenges and the run to the 2019 Champions League final, which resulted in a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.

His five-year reign included 113 wins from 202 Premier League games, a points-per-game (PPG) average of 1.89, before he was eventually dismissed by chairman Daniel Levy after appearing to take the club as far as he could.

Pochettino landed at Paris Saint-Germain, where he won a Ligue 1 title as well as a Coupe de France and Trophee des Champions, but failures in the Champions League and losing out on the 2020-21 French title to Lille were low points, albeit he only took over halfway through that season.

He is therefore perhaps more suited to more of an underdog than one that operates in the way Chelsea does.

On the other hand, perhaps he could tempt Harry Kane across London.

Luis Enrique

The former Real Madrid and Barcelona player most recently won 27 of 48 games as Spain head coach, but international football can be a different world to the top-level club game.

Luis Enrique was very successful in his last club job at Barca, though it admittedly helped having a front three of Lionel Messi, Suarez and Neymar all at their peak.

He won two LaLiga titles, three Copa del Rey crowns, a Supercopa de Espana, a European Super Cup and a Club World Cup, as well as the 2014-15 Champions League as part of a historic treble.

Overall, Luis Enrique won 87 of his 114 LaLiga games (2.4 PPG), and has shown that he can take a team of superstars and get plenty out of them while managing egos.

However, the fact he has not had a club job since 2017 might be seen as problematic by some fans, while it could also be argued he underachieved with Spain.

Roberto De Zerbi

It would really be a kick in the teeth for Brighton to have Chelsea take another of their head coaches so soon after luring Potter away, but on paper, this could make all the sense in the world for the Blues.

Potter earned the Chelsea gig from the fantastic work he did on the south coast, with De Zerbi replacing him as Seagulls boss after his departure.

The Italian has taken Brighton to another level since his arrival, with the club remarkably still in with a reasonable chance of finishing in the European spots, and perhaps even the top four.

De Zerbi has averaged 1.50 points per game, winning eight of his 20 league games in charge, as well as guiding Brighton to the FA Cup semi-finals.

Having De Zerbi develop the foundations laid by Potter could work twice, though it would likely cost Chelsea a fortune to find out, not that that usually deters them.