Mauricio Pochettino has left Chelsea by mutual consent after meetings with sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, and co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali over two days.

Pochettino agreed to leave Chelsea late Tuesday morning following the club’s end-of-season review, which started on Monday. There is no bad blood between Pochettino and Chelsea, and the club will start searching for a new coach immediately, targeting a young and progressive candidate.

Names likely to be considered include Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness, Girona’s Michel, Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna, and Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca.

Pochettino had dinner with co-controlling owner Todd Boehly last Friday night, and spent several hours on Monday and Tuesday with Winstanley, Stewart, and Eghbali. This marks the end of Pochettino’s tenure after one year of a two-year contract he signed last summer. He is set to receive significant compensation.

The departure, described as ‘amicable’, makes Pochettino the third permanent head coach to leave under the Clearlake Capital-Boehly ownership, following Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter.

Chelsea’s managerial changes have been frequent, with Bruno Saltor managing one game last season before Frank Lampard took interim charge, resulting in five managers in two years under the current ownership.

Pochettino managed to secure European qualification for Chelsea with a run of five successive wins at the end of the season. He also led the team to the final of the Carabao Cup and the semi-final of the FA Cup. Despite these achievements, key figures at Stamford Bridge felt the season fell short of expectations, citing issues like a crippling injury list.

Pochettino said, “Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and sporting directors for the opportunity to be part of this football club’s history. The club is now well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come.”

Chelsea announced that Pochettino’s coaching staff, including Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez, and Sebastiano Pochettino, have also left the club.

Sporting directors Winstanley and Stewart expressed their gratitude: “On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to express our gratitude to Mauricio for his service this season. He will be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time and we wish him all the very best in his future coaching career.”