Chelsea FC: Mauricio Pochettino repeats Tottenham’s trick and identifies four favorites for the new era
Pochettino, who is set to be finally confirmed as the club’s new head coach this week, has already begun assessing the Blues’ bloated squad ahead of a crucial summer in the transfer market.
The Argentine is said to have identified centre-back Colwill, who will return to Stamford Bridge at the end of the season, midfielders Conor Gallagher and Mason Mount and full-back Reece James as players who could be crucial to his project.
His plans could prompt a rethink at the club, who are considering putting a number of academy graduates up for sale in the summer while they begin downsizing the squad and balancing the books.
Mason Mount faced an uncertain future at his youth club
/ Action pics via ReutersMount, 24, has a year left on his contract and was expected to leave his boyhood club in the summer, but Pochettino is likely to recommend offering him a new deal given the keen interest from Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle.
Pochettino’s arrival could also be a lifeline for Gallagher at Stamford Bridge after Chelsea were open to offers for the England international in January.
Gallagher was interested in a move to Newcastle but the Blues were reluctant to sell to a perceived European rival midway through the season. The 23-year-old, whose dynamic approach suits Pochettino well, is understood to want to remain at Chelsea under a manager who trusts him.
However, Pochettino is also keen on signing a new midfielder, but that could affect the status of Mount and Gallagher, despite the former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss prioritizing a goalkeeper and striker in the summer.
Colwill, meanwhile, faced an uncertain future despite a stellar season on loan on the south coast.
The 20-year-old’s contract has two years left – but a one-year extension will be automatically triggered if he makes 15 Premier League appearances for the Blues – and has attracted interest from Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton.
Colwill put in an outstanding performance in Brighton’s 3-0 win at Arsenal on Sunday and is in the running for an England call-up.
He would like to play regular first-team football and it’s not clear if he can co-exist with the £32.7million signing of Benoit Badiashile, also a left-footed centre-back, particularly without European football next season but Pochettino said to have been impressed by this England youth international.
There is a feeling that Chelsea could seek to capitalize on homegrown stars to avoid breaching Financial Fair Play regulations, having spent more than £600m on new players under 17 in the last two transfer windows.
The sale of some homegrown stars would be treated as pure profit under UEFA’s new version of FFP rules, which would allow the club to more easily balance the accounts.
Pochettino has had great success with his young Spurs stars
/ Ian Walton/Getty ImagesBut Pochettino’s desire to replicate what he did at Spurs, by building his squad around a group of talented homegrown stars, could prompt a different approach to the window – although the club could still raise funds by Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek outsources. among other.
Pochettino is keen to give every member of the squad a clean slate and a chance to impress, but the club are under pressure to release players before June 30 so the sales can be factored into their 2022-23 financial accounts. The new head coach may therefore need to make quick decisions about which players he would like to sack over the next six weeks.
Joining Spurs in 2014, Pochettino was quick to discard underperforming older players and built a team around Harry Kane, Ryan Mason, Andros Townsend, Nabil Bentaleb and Danny Rose, all of whom had spent time at the club’s academy.
His title-threatening squad the following season also included young England stars Kyle Walker, Eric Dier and Dele Alli.
https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/chelsea-fc-news-pochettino-transfer-plan-tottenham-b1081341.html Chelsea FC: Mauricio Pochettino repeats Tottenham’s trick and identifies four favorites for the new era
