Pochettino reviews Chelsea’s defeat at Everton
A number of Chelsea players have reportedly asked their representatives to seek moves away from Stamford Bridge after the club’s poor start to the season. The unbalanced nature of Mauricio Pochettino’s squad is leaving established stars out in the cold, and the Argentine could complicate matters further by welcoming more stars to west London in January.
Pochettino’s lack of impact has left Chelsea fans deflated, with only five wins picked up from his first 16 Premier League matches. Expectations went through the roof during the summer, when they spent almost half a billion pounds on transfers.
But the Blues’ commitment to exclusively targeting young players has seen them struggle to gel on the pitch, and a lack of symmetry in the number of options for each position has left some big-money stars frustrated at a lack of game time.
According to The Daily Mail, Pochettino could pay the price as certain squad members have already instructed their agents to scout out the transfer market for options elsewhere.
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Chelsea’s radical approach to contracts, with some players signing eight-year deals at Stamford Bridge, could ease the manager’s fears, however. With the Blues under no pressure to sell those with long-running deals in January, Pochettino may be able to put the brakes on moves for wantaway stars.
A staggering 14 Chelsea players have contracts set to run until at least 2030 as part of a bold approach used by co-owner Todd Boehly to lure high-quality prospects to west London.
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By contrast, reigning treble champions Manchester City don’t have a single star in their squad contracted beyond 2028. Trevoh Chalobah, Malang Sarr and Ian Maatsen are among those expected to flirt with Chelsea exits in the winter window.
And Pochettino may be saddled with other unhappy players if Boehly answers his public call to splash more cash on squad improvements in a few weeks’ time. “If you understand football, it’s a new project, new team, too many circumstances against us,” said the former Tottenham boss after Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Everton.
“Then it is not as easy to build something new. The expectation is massive and the reality low. That’s why it is about taking decisions, being strong in the way that we assess the team and be clever and take decisions to try to improve in the second part of the season.
“From day one to today, and when the transfer window opens, see what we can do. I’m not saying I’m going to ask for more players or less players, but it is to see if perception matches reality.”
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