Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has left the club by mutual consent after just one season in charge at Stamford Bridge.

A statement released on Tuesday read: “Chelsea FC can confirm that the club and Mauricio Pochettino have mutually agreed to part ways.”

Pochettino was appointed last May after a lengthy recruitment process, replacing interim manager Frank Lampard, who arrived following Graham Potter’s sacking in April 2023.

He signed a two-year contract on July 1, 2023 with the option of a further year but was under pressure after an underwhelming first half of the season.

However despite a season of struggles, the 52 year old Argentine led his youthful squad to the Carabao Cup final, the semi-finals of the FA Cup and ended the Premier League campaign with five successive wins to secure European football with a sixth-place finish, an improvement from the 2022/23 campaign where they ended 12th.

“Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and sporting directors for the opportunity,” Pochettino said.

“The club is now well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come.”

Chelsea will now search for a successor and have expressed recent interest in Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna, Sporting’s Ruben Amorim and Burnley’s Vincent Kompany.

Assistant coaches Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino have also left.