DAILY STAR
For the first time in months, Chelsea fans have a reason to be excited about the future following news Mauricio Pochettino has agreed to become the club’s new manager.
The ex-Tottenham boss has been leading the race since Julian Nagelsmann was crossed off the shortlist last month and it’s only be matter of time now before the Argentine is pictured in Chelsea blue.
With a new manager chosen, Todd Boehly and Co. can finally start planning their summer overhaul, and with a bloated squad in need of trimming and gaping holes in the starting XI needing filling, chances are the team’s going to look significantly different come the start of the 2023/24 season.
Here, Daily Star Sport runs through four ways the Blues could line up under Pochettino.
4-2-3-1 – ‘Full English’
Chelsea are crying out for a striker and a defensive midfielder – so why not go out and nab two of the best on the market in Harry Kane and Declan Rice?
Sure, it’s a little ambitious to think Kane would swap Tottenham for Chelsea, but how many of us would’ve said the same about Pochettino a few months ago? Rice, meanwhile, will be a little easier to convince given his history with the club and bromance with Mason Mount (who Pochettino is a big fan of, by the way).
The Blues also need a new goalkeeper, and if they’re shopping locally why not go for Brentford’s David Raya? Elsewhere, Christopher Nkunku, who was snapped up from RB Leipzig late last year (announcement pending), can come in and play the Dele Ali role behind Kane, while Mount can be deployed as a midfielder/winger hybrid just as Pochettino did with Christian Eriksen in at Spurs, with Mykhailo Mudryk taking the Heung-min Son role.
4-2-3-1 – ‘Fluid and technical’
The best teams these days tend to be pretty slick on the ball and Pochettino could opt to fill his side with silky technicians.
A new goalkeeper is a must, and AC Milan’s Mike Maignan is just about the best shot stopper around, though also very comfortable with the ball at his feet – which is a must-have in modern football. Sticking with the ‘technician’ approach, a ball-playing defensive midfielder, rather than a bruising tackler, might be just what the doctor ordered- and Sporting’s Manuel Ugarte fits the bill.
Joao Felix could either be retained on loan or bought outright, and can slot in behind Lisandro Martinez, and although signing Neymar might sound a little Football Managerish, the Brazilian is heavily linked with a PSG exit this summer and a positive relationship with Pochettino, coupled with Boehly’s keenness to hook himself a genuine superstar, means a move to Stamford Bridge isn’t the craziest idea in the world.
