A nightmare for Tottenham supporters! Winners & losers as Chelsea hire Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager

Let's not hide the fact that Pochettino is a very lucky boy. He may have won the first major honour of his coaching career at PSG, but his 18-month stay in Paris did little to enhance his reputation. On the contrary, it raised concerns over his ability to manage superstars.

Of course, PSG is the game's most poisoned of chalices but, again, that only makes one wonder if he's really the right man for Chelsea, who have far too many expensive signings - they even had to enlarge the dressing room, as a deeply frustrated Thiago Silva pointed out - and are run even worse than the Ligue 1 champions.

Still, Pochettino will be showered in praise if he manages to get a tune out of his team, given it looks like he'll be operating in a high-pressure, PSG-like atmosphere of uncertainty. There's also the fact that former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann looked odds-on to land the job for some time before pulling out of the race.

Bottom line: Pochettino has been presented with an excellent and unexpected opportunity to re-establish himself among the game's top managers.

Let's spare a thought for Spurs supporters right now. Things were going bad enough as it was. Antonio Conte forced his way out of the club less than a year after securing Champions League football, caretaker coach Cristian Stellini was sacked after the humiliating 6-1 loss at Newcastle, Harry Kane seems likely to leave this summer, while bitter rivals Arsenal have spent the season fighting for the Premier League title.

Now, their hopes of seeing their beloved Pochettino return to north London have been dashed in devastating circumstances. Seriously, this is a nightmare for Tottenham fans. And it could get even worse. What if Pochettino tells Todd Boehly that he wants Kane at the Bridge next season?...

Of course, Chelsea already have a plethora of world-class players on their books. Enzo Fernandez, for example, was one of the stars of Qatar 2022, with his insertion into the Argentina line up arguably one of the key moments in the entire tournament.

However, the midfielder has, thus far at least, struggled to illustrate why exactly Chelsea made him the most expensive player in British football history during the January transfer window. Now, the fee was obviously ridiculous, further evidence of the owners' recklessness, but there's no denying that more was expected from Fernandez, even if he has shown flashes of his undoubted quality.

Pochettino's appointment could, therefore, be a turning point in his Chelsea career, as it's highly likely that his compatriot will make him the fulcrum of his own line up.

Pochettino could prove the perfect choice to unlock all of the potential at Chelsea. The owners may have employed a rather scattergun approach to recruitment, but the broad idea was to sign younger players who could develop into stars.

Pochettino certainly has plenty of previous when it comes to putting his faith in youth. "I'm not afraid to play them," Pochettino said back in 2017. "If a player deserves to play, if they are 17, 18, 19 or 20, it's the same for us."

At the start of his Tottenham tenure, he gave opportunities to the likes of Kane, Dele Alli and Eric Dier - all young at the time, all English. His appointment, then, could mean more opportunities for Levi Colwill, Noni Madueke, Carney Chukwuemeka, Lewis Hall and even Callum Hudson-Odoi, as well as 21-year-old Albanian forward Armando Broja and teenage Jamaica international Omari Hutchinson.

Make no mistake about it, Frank Lampard would have been hoping to put himself in contention to turn his interim role into a permanent gig by making an instant impact in his second stint at Stamford Bridge. Not only has he failed to do that, though, he's also raised concerns over his elite-level coaching credentials after overseeing just one win in his 11 games in charge.

Beating Real Madrid was always going to be a tall order, given the quality of the opposition and the lack of preparation time, so it would be hard to pin Chelsea's tame European exit on Lampard. However, the dismal nature of their Premier League displays have done little to weaken the belief that Boehly made a ludicrous and populist decision in turning to the club icon to steady the ship.

Lampard may have many friends in the media, but would it be a shock if it is some time before we see him managing in the Premier League again? Another spell in the Championship beckons for the former England international if he wants to rebuild his reputation.

Kai Havertz is not a centre-forward, nor is he even an adequate 'false nine'. However, he is technically gifted and he does have goals in him. One wonders, then, if Pochettino might just be capable of turning the Germany international into the Chelsea version of a young Dele. At the very least, he looks ideally suited to play just off a proper striker in Pochettino's preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.

And the same goes for Mykhailo Mudryk. There's no doubt that Chelsea overpaid for the Ukraine international in their desperation to hijack Arsenal's deal for the winger, and he's been a massive disappointment so far.

There is clearly a good player in there, though, and Pochettino might just be the man to unlock him. After all, he took Son Heung-min's game to a whole other level during their time together at Tottenham; maybe, just maybe, he could do likewise with Mudryk at Chelsea.