Man United star confirms Mauricio Pochettino’s biggest challenge at Chelsea
Mauricio Pochettino is expected to be named Chelsea’s new manager soon. His hiring may be announced next week, but the club’s main issue is obvious.
The Chelsea team is massive. In his two transfer windows as Blues owner, Todd Boehly has spent almost £600 million.
There have been several high-profile additions, but very few departures. That heaped a heavy workload on first Thomas Tuchel, then Graham Potter, and now Frank Lampard.
It’s a tough endeavor to keep a team of over 30 veteran stars pleased. There will always be guys who don’t make the cut and feel they should at least be in the opening lineup.
Pochettino appears likely to be hired by Chelsea after holding constructive negotiations with Boehly. In the past, he has indicated that he is not satisfied with the large pool of players available to him now.
Former Spurs and current Red Devils midfielder Christian Eriksen learned his trade from Pochettino. The Danish midfielder said in 2015 that the Argentine likes to keep his roster modest.
He declared, “We have a pretty great roster, but I think that the coach would rather have a somewhat smaller squad. And he’s the one who says who gets to stay and who goes.”
When Pochettino arrives at Chelsea, he will find the complete antithesis of his ideal situation. Together with Boehly, he will have to determine which players to keep and who to release.
That’s not going to be a simple task. Of course, Chelsea would still need to sell or find clubs ready to take on loan the players in question.
The enormous salaries the players at Stamford Bridge command only add further complexity. Even if it means playing more consistently abroad, big names won’t risk losing money to do so.
It’s possible that clubs won’t pay top dollar for the players Chelsea is so plainly trying to move. In other cases, teams won’t even be able to pay the salaries of the players they don’t want.
Pochettino faces a rebuilding task and may want to bring in some new players. But it will simply increase the size of his team, making it more difficult for the 51-year-old to achieve his goals.
Man United star confirms Mauricio Pochettino’s biggest challenge at Chelsea