THE MAURICIO POCHETTINO era has officially begun at Chelsea as the Argentine started his first day in the job.
After months of speculation, a verbal agreement was struck at the end of April between the former Tottenham manager and the Blues.
And Chelsea finally named Pochettino as their new boss on May 29.
The 51-year-old has been forced to wait over a month to get down to business on the training pitch with his new squad.
Now the day has finally arrived - and the club’s cameras were there to capture him entering Cobham to begin his job of transforming the club.
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Captioned with the hashtag “WelcomePoch” and the words “This is where it starts,” the new guy was spotted being chauffeured into the training ground in a black Mercedes people carrier.
Decked out in a black jacket, shirt and trousers, along with accompanying trainers, he received a warm welcome from a waiting member of staff as he greeted the cameras with a smile and a “good morning”.
A few hugs and more warm embraces followed for more staff members before Poch confidently strode through the door to get down to business.
Chelsea shared the clip on their social media channels, and it soon sent fans into meltdown.
“He’s gonna do amazing at Chelsea. I can tell it....we’re winning everything next season. Let’s gooooo,” declared one follower.
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Another declared: “The game changer is here.”
“He has that aura,” wrote another as many more committed: “Welcome gaffer!”
And another said: “Poch will definitely prove his detractors wrong, welcome great gaffer. We gonna conquer!”
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Chelsea endured their worst season since the 1990s as they ended the last campaign without silverware and 12th in the Premier League - a finish that meant they have no European football to look forward to this term under Pochettino.
But it seems that the majority are hopeful he can turn the club around as the club’s huge transfer clearout continues while several new additions have also been made over the past week.
Chelsea announced the signing of Diego Moreira from Benfica on Saturday.
That came hours after the Blues also signed Norwich wonderkid Alex Matos.
And they have already snapped up 15-year-old Kendry Paez this summer.
Alongside the string of starlets, Chelsea have so far brought in Christopher Nkunku and completed a seal for Villarreal striker Nicolas Jackson on Friday.
Meanwhile, they have already shifted six senior players this window.
Kai Havertz joined Arsenal in a £65million deal while Manchester City signed Mateo Kovacic for £30m.
N'Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy have all left for Saudi Arabia and Hakim Ziyech could soon follow.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek also announced his departure for AC Milan and fellow academy graduate Mason Mount is close to joining United for £60m.
Pochettino had been out of work since leaving Paris Saint-Germain last summer.
He is one of the most successful and popular managers in recent times at Spurs, Chelsea’s bitter London rivals, despite failing to win a trophy with the club.
He averaged 1.89 points per game - the most for any Tottenham boss in Premier League history with a minimum of 38 Premier League games in charge.
The ex-Southampton chief capped off his five-year stint at White Hart Lane by leading Spurs to the 2019 Champions League final, where they lost to Liverpool.
But he was sacked just months later following a poor start to the next campaign before eventually taking over at PSG in January 2021, winning the Coupe de France and Ligue 1 prior to his departure.
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