Chelsea to review Mauricio Pochettino's position in summer

Chelsea have a long-standing agreement with manager Mauricio Pochettino to review his position at the club at the end of the season, 90min understands.

Pochettino finds himself under pressure after an underwhelming first half of the season, but a fantastic win 3-1 win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Tuesday has not only helped his cause but shown what Chelsea are capable of.

But with Chelsea dropping back into the bottom half of the Premier League table there is an important February ahead, including the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool at the end of the month.

Before the Villa win, sources had already confirmed to 90min that Pochettino's position is under no immediate threat, with those in charge at Stamford Bridge well aware of the need for patience with a young squad.

It is also accepted that Pochettino has rarely been able to name his strongest lineup due to injuries, while the younger members of the team also need time to adjust to life in the Premier League, and so there is an awareness that it would be unfair to make a final judgement on Pochettino at this point.

When Pochettino joined the club last year, he agreed to what sources describe as a "two-way appraisal" this summer, which will give both Chelsea's owners and Pochettino himself the chance to discuss the direction of the club. The boss signed a three-year contract but only the first two seasons are guaranteed with the third year a club option.

Chelsea's preference would be to see out the season with Pochettino at the helm with a genuine desire to make things work and succeed in the long-term with their current boss. And if the need did arise for change, there are fears it's a risk unsettling things further by finding an interim, as was the case last year when Frank Lampard was brought in to replace Graham Potter.

As Pochettino himself confirmed, he received a text message of support from the owners in the aftermath of the defeat to Wolves, with sources dismissing any suggestions of crisis talks or formal discussions about potential replacements. Chelsea's position was very much 'business as usual'.

While Chelsea currently have no plans to part ways with Pochettino, the nature of their agreement with the current manager does leave the door open to a potential parting of ways this summer and so club officials are understood to have been doing their normal due diligence on potential replacements. This doesn't mean exploring a replacement so much as general succession planning, which every club tends to do.

There have been strong links to former manager Jose Mourinho, who is available following his departure from Roma, but he is not seen as a likely appointment in the current circumstances.

As was the case with Thomas Tuchel when the Chelsea ownership group arrived, it is not thought Mourinho is seen as a strategic fit with Chelsea's model. Instead, Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso, Brighton's Roberto De Zerbi and Sporting's Ruben Amorim are among those admired, but there have been no formal discussions and nothing will advance beyond the current situation while Pochettino remains in the post because there is a desire to make it work with the Argentine.

The owners have a current plan which spans four transfer windows, with this upcoming summer set to be the fourth and final. There is a desire to land a big-name striker, with Napoli's Victor Osimhen viewed as a potential missing piece, and Chelsea officials do not want to unfairly judge their manager's performance until the fourth and final window of their plan has passed.

READ THE LATEST NEWS FROM 90MIN'S TALKING TRANSFERS TEAM