Ex-Man Utd player Owen Hargreaves thinks Chelsea “will be a top-four side again next season” under new head coach Mauricio Pochettino.

The Blues confirmed on Monday afternoon that Pochettino will take over ahead of next season.

The Premier League outfit have been without a permanent boss since Graham Potter left the club at the start of April.

Frank Lampard endured a terrible spell as the club’s interim head coach. The club legend managed to win just one of his 11 games in charge across all competitions.

Pochettino has been out of work since leaving PSG last year. His spell at the Ligue 1 giants did not go to plan but he was previously lauded during his time at Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur.

The Argentinian was linked with Man Utd last year before they appointed Erik ten Hag and he is now tasked with rebuilding Chelsea following their miserable season in 2022/23.

They ended up finishing 12th in the Premier League but Hargreaves is expecting Pochettino to get them back into the Champions League picture.

Hargreaves also thinks Chelsea need to be focusing on signing a new striker and goalkeeper.

“It’s a great appointment, a brilliant appointment,” Hargreaves said on Optus Sport.

“I respect Graham Potter for taking that job and testing himself at the top level, but it was a terrible fit for him and a terrible fit for Chelsea.

“I think Poch will be an amazing fit for them and I think they’ll be a top-four side again next season.

“They’ve got a lot of the pieces of the puzzle to sort out, a lot of sporting directors to help figure it out. They’ve got to sell a lot of players. But Poch will have a clear identity of how he wants to play and they’ve got some fabulous players.

“Sort the centre-forward position out, possibly sign a new goalkeeper – a new spine really – and I think Chelsea will be right there again next season.”

Ex-Liverpool star Sadio Mane has been mentioned as a potential signing for Chelsea following his poor first season at Bayern Munich.

Former Aston Villa attacker Gabriel Agbonlahor thinks Mane could be a “really good signing” for the Blues.

“I don’t like the way it hasn’t worked for him in Germany,” Agbonlahor told Football Insider.

“They do say that the grass isn’t always greener, and maybe the Premier League suited him a bit more. The directness of Liverpool suited him, and maybe at Bayern, they don’t play that way.

“I think he should come back to the Premier League. But if he goes to Chelsea, they’ll have to change their style of play. At the moment they like to pass, pass, pass.

“If they change that, it could be a really good signing. But their style at the moment won’t suit Mane.”

READ MORE: Chelsea, Leicester, Leeds, Spurs and Liverpool are among our Premier League 22/23 season losers

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