Chelsea 'appreciate' three Liverpool manager targets as pressure mounts on Mauricio Pochettino

Liverpool are set to face stiff competition in their search to find a replacement for Jurgen Klopp, as reports about Mauricio Pochettino's future continue to grow.

The future of the Argentinian seems to be increasingly uncertain after a poor run which culminated with that EFL Cup final loss to Liverpool in the 118th minute. In what is a typical Chelsea report, the Stamford Bridge hot-seat is clearly a poisoned chalice and the latest reports suggest the club are looking at other targets in case of Pochettino's dismissal.

Despite the reports, nothing has been 'pre-decided', according to CBS Sports' Ben Jacobs. The issue for Liverpool is that Chelsea are targeting three managers who have been on their radar [The Athletic] and Todd Boehly will have no issue triggering huge release clauses for managers.

“Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino are in quite similar positions. The aim of both clubs is to judge them at the end of the season, but each manager has an important stretch of games coming up that could prove defining for their futures,” Jacobs said. “Chelsea’s owners have always planned to judge Pochettino at the end of the season in a two-way appraisal, whilst Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS want to be fair to ten Hag and take some time to assess him.

“Chelsea haven’t made any determination on Pochettino yet despite growing fan discontent. In an ideal world, they don’t want to make a change, so nothing is pre-decided. It’s true, however, that the club appreciates Ruben Amorim, Roberto De Zerbi and Xabi Alonso.”

As it stands, Alonso is the main target and it is highly unlikely that the Spaniard would opt for a club like Chelsea. Plus, it goes against the gentleman's agreement he is said to have with Bayer Leverkusen who are happy to discuss moves to Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Liverpool, but a release clause will have to be paid. There's also the highly-regarded 39-year-old Ruben Amorim who is doing a brilliant job with Sporting Lisbon. He has attracted suitors across this season and there was even reports Liverpool had sent scouts to their recent clash with Benfica to analyse his tactical shape.