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Tom Hamilton, Senior Writer
Women’s Super League champions Chelsea are set to appoint Lyon manager Sonia Bompastor as Emma Hayes’ successor, sources have told ESPN.
News of Chelsea’s interest in Bompastor broke in February and the two parties held lengthy discussions over a compensation agreement.
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Bompastor is contracted to Lyon through to 2025, but she is set to leave the French champions to take charge of Chelsea at the end of the season.
Bompastor has been Chelsea’s number one target throughout the process of identifying Hayes’ successor. Hayes will leave the club at the end of the season to take up the United States Women’s National Team head coach position.
Hayes leaves big shoes to fill at Chelsea. She has transformed the side, steering them to six WSL titles since she took charge in 2012, as well as winning five FA Cups.
Chelsea are still on for a treble this season, despite losing the Conti Cup final to Arsenal last month. They face Barcelona in the semifinals of the Champions League, are second in the WSL and play Manchester United in the semifinals of the FA Cup on Sunday.
If they manage to beat Barcelona in Europe, they could come up against Bompastor’s Lyon in the final.
Bompastor won 156 caps for France and the 2011 and 2012 Champions League titles as a player at Lyon. She joined the team’s backroom staff in 2013 and took charge of the first team in 2021 after Jean-Luc Vasseur’s departure.
In the 2021-22 campaign, she led Lyon to the league title and Champions League, and backed that up by steering Lyon to their second straight league crown last term.
Securing Bompastor’s services hasn’t been straightforward for Chelsea. Lyon were taken over earlier this month by American businesswoman Michele Kang who pledged to help Lyon become dominant in Europe again.