Chelsea ‘close in on Mauricio Pochettino’ as it is revealed Julian Nagelsmann was ‘SPOOKED’ into rejecting manager job

JULIAN NAGELSMANN was reportedly "spooked" into rejecting Chelsea amid concerns over the club's recruitment strategy as Mauricio Pochettino closes in on taking over.

The German boss was favourite to become the Blues' manager for next season.

However, after holding talks with the club, Nagelsmann decided to withdraw himself from the race.

The claim that the ex-Bayern Munich boss was under the impression that discussion regarding him joining Chelsea were going to be a formality.

But owner Todd Boehly has supposedly decided to also approach the likes of Pochettino and Vincent Kompany, which has further put Nagelsmann off.

Chelsea have spent £600million over two transfer windows and recruitment has been questioned by fans and pundits with the team languishing in 11th place in the table.

Pochettino is now closing in on the Stamford Bridge dugout once Frank Lampard's interim reign ends.

The former Tottenham boss has reportedly heavily impressed Chelsea chiefs during talks.

Meanwhile, there were concerns that Naglesmann was too similar to Thomas Tuchel, who was dismissed by the club back in September.

Chelsea players are supposedly looking forward to working with Pochettino despite many being set to be axed by him.

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The Argentine was loved at Spurs after guiding the club to a Champions League final in 2019.

He since managed Paris Saint-Germain, helping them win Ligue 1 last year.