Mauricio Pochettino wants to sign TALLER players in January to address Chelsea’s lack of height… after his side started with only four outfield players over 6ft in dismal defeat by Everton
By Sami Mokbel and Adrian Kajumba For Mailonline
16:43 11 Dec 2023, up to date 17:46 11 Dec 2023
- Chelsea suffered their seventh league defeat of the season towards Everton
- Pochettino’s side are languishing in the underside half of the desk after 16 video games
- Todd Boehly jogs my memory of the wealthy drunk man at a sporting memorabilia night time with the players Chelsea have purchased – Listen to It’s All Kicking Off
They say dimension doesn’t matter. Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino would argue to the opposite.
Of the 10 outfield players that started in Sunday’s loss at Everton, only four had been 6ft or over – Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile, Cole Palmer and Armando Broja.
There is a specific lack of height in centre midfield: Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Conor Gallagher are vertically challenged in an space of the pitch the place each inch counts.
Aerially, it leaves Chelsea in a troublesome spot. It means the central midfielders can’t assault excessive balls by way of the center leaving one of the centre-backs to step ahead to fulfil that necessity.
It’s half of the rationale why Pochettino has persevered with taking part in 6ft 2ins centre-half Levi Colwill at left-back this season. It may clarify why 19-year-old Chimuanya Ugochukwu, who’s 6ft 3ins, has performed extra typically than anticipated this time period.
It’s an issue for Pochettino, and one he’s set to suggest the membership search to rectify in January.
The Argentine’s plea for brand spanking new players following the loss at Goodison Park was indicative of how involved Pochettino is in regards to the power of his squad.
Public declarations of needing players isn’t how he operates. Those at Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain, who’ve labored alongside Pochettino in phrases of participant recruitment, communicate of a person respectful to the parameters he’s working inside.
‘He doesn’t demand, he recommends,’ stated one supply.
With that in thoughts, the sheer truth Pochettino felt compelled to brazenly promote a necessity for brand spanking new signings is symbolic of his concern at how the season is growing.
The Argentine is underneath no rapid hazard at Stamford Bridge. The possession are aware of the playing cards he was dealt.
But by the identical token, they’re stressed. They need success, significantly after a close to £1billion spend on new players, though how they’ve spent these fortunes have been open to conjecture and sometimes ridicule.
There’s doubtless to be cash to spend in January, however there’s an understanding that the membership are flying nearer to the wind with Financial Fair Play than they’d like.
The FFP downside is why they’ve taken to promoting many of the membership’s academy graduates – Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek to title three – as a result of it counts as pure revenue on the steadiness sheet.
It’s why Chelsea are refusing to internally rule out the prospect of promoting Conor Gallagher, who Pochettino charges, amid ongoing uncertainty over his contractual scenario.
Tottenham are eager on Gallagher as a No 8 if Chelsea resolve to promote.
Moving ahead, Chelsea would slightly preserve a tighter rein on the wage invoice, the prospect of paying players in-excess of £150,000-per-week is one thing they’re eager to keep away from.
Yet, how do you entice a prime participant – significantly the elite striker they so desperately want – on £150,000-per-week when rival golf equipment might be prepared to pay shut to double that?
Brentford striker Ivan Toney is a goal. But he’s doubtless to price shut to £100million and is aware of he might earn extra elsewhere with Arsenal and Manchester United each in the England worldwide.
Toney actually matches the invoice in phrases of the stature and athleticism he wants from his players.
Pochettino would ideally like a much bigger central midfielder in his squad, significantly in video games the place he is aware of the opposition pose an aerial risk.
But having spent properly over £200million on Caicedo and Enzo and with Romeo Lavia, who himself price £58m, nonetheless to return from harm – you’d think about Chelsea’s house owners would favor to spend cash in different areas.
Mail Sport has additionally realized there’s a feeling at Chelsea that they may do with strengthen at goalkeeper amid issues over the viability of choices beneath first-choice Robert Sanchez, who suffered an harm at Goodison Park.
There can be a recognition that the squad lacks real management and authority – an space Pochettino wants to address.
Whether Pochettino will get what he feels he requires to remodel Chelsea’s season is one other matter.
The former Spurs boss isn’t one to absolutely immerse himself in the switch market politics.
He doesn’t like immediately dealing with intermediaries and brokers, in distinction to many of his friends preferring to have a better relationship with the representatives of the players his membership have an interest in.
Pochettino fears getting used as a pawn by brokers prepared to inform membership recruitment workers that the Chelsea boss fancies their participant in hope of leveraging a transfer for his or her consumer.
And whereas Pochettino may have important involvement over expertise indication forward of the switch window, his involvement might be restricted to making technical suggestions.
He go away the intricacies of dealing with brokers to director of world expertise and transfers Paul Winstanely, technical director Laurence Stewart, and Behdad Eghbali, who has taken a palms on position after fellow co-owner Todd Boehly determined to take a step again in the summer season.
Pochettino is alleged to have had a very good working relationship with Stewart, a bond that may very well be important in the approaching weeks.
Whether that’s the appropriate course of motion for Pochettino stays to be seen. His squad isn’t ok, however that isn’t on him; sources indicating he had very minimal enter into the summer season switch window.
So maybe, it will be in his greatest pursuits to be extra assertive subsequent month. But that isn’t his type, though some insiders imagine his reluctance to name the pictures is down to a lack of grasp in the marketplace.
In the imply time, Pochettino and his trusted aide Jesus Perez are banking on the returns to health of Lavia and Christopher Nkunku.
But even then the membership’s method to recruitment throughout the Boehly/Clearlake period has left Pochettino dealing with a dilemma as to the place Nkunku can play.
Raheem Sterling, Cole Palmer, Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke are all vying for locations in extensive attacking areas, there isn’t any computerized spot for the France worldwide. The squad’s unbalanced.
Those frustrations are extending to sure members of the squad, who’re privately instructing their brokers to search strikes away – which is less complicated stated than finished given the long-term contract, eight years in some instances, which were signed.
