Chelsea suffered a humiliating 5-0 defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday and TEAMtalk sources state that it could prove fatal for Mauricio Pochettino with the thrashing ultimately leading to his sacking at Stamford Bridge.

There has been serious pressure on the Argentine coach for some time, with the Blues languishing in ninth place in the Premier League table and now seeing their final trophy hopes for the season ended after elimination to Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday.

Now TEAMtalk sources have informed us that several members of the squad and the board believe Pochettino is “finished” as manager of Chelsea.

The loss to Arsenal was the final straw for many, leading to a “major uproar” behind the scenes. Several players think the former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss’ position is now untenable and he is a “dead man walking.”

To add to the tension and uncertainty surrounding Pochettino, sources have informed us that Boehly’s business partner and Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali has been a regular presence at the training ground in recent days, leading to further question marks over the manager’s future.

Todd Boehly will ultimately have the final say on the future of Pochettino but everything points towards him being removed from his post before the start of next season.

Pochettino will therefore become the third permanent manager to be sacked since the start of the Boehly era at Stamford Bridge if the axe falls as sources expect.

Several Chelsea players want Mauricio Pochettino sacked

Members of the Chelsea hierarchy have already begun drawing up a shortlist of potential replacements for Pochettino.

TEAMtalk can exclusively reveal that the Blues have been informed that Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim is “available for negotiations.”

The 39-year-old coach is currently being pursued by a multitude of top clubs including Liverpool, West Ham and Manchester United, with the latter reportedly serious contenders to bring him in.

Chelsea can now be added to Amorim’s list of suitors and he may well be the man who ends up replacing Pochettino.

Amorim is one of the most in-demand managers in world football as he steers Sporting Lisbon towards another league title – his second in three years  – and he boasts one of the best win percentages in top-level European football.

Being Chelsea manager has become an extremely difficult task in recent years given the expectation for success after Boehly has splashed over £1bn on new players since his takeover.

Many believed that Pochettino was the man to take the Blues back to the top of the Premier League table but he has failed in his attempts to do so.

Our information prior to Chelsea’s embarrassing performance on Tuesday was that the board were fearful of sacking another manager “too early” as some think they did with Thomas Tuchel.

The plan was to re-evaluate Pochettino at the end of the season, but many key figures have now made up their minds and want him out of the club.

Pochettino is not Chelsea’s only problem, though. The same squad of players will remain and there is an understanding that a change of recruitment plan is needed, which has been a sticking point with managerial candidates in the past.