Mauricio Pochettino's entertaining Tottenham and Southampton sides became a thing of Premier League beauty. They epitomised his playing style, which was developed and refined in Argentina and the demands he makes with total buy-in from his players were clear.
Players such as Adam Lallana and Moussa Dembele, undoubtedly skilled midfielders, were taken to a new level under Pochettino through dedication, hard work and impressive coaching. Although the narrative is that the 51 year-old is less tactically skillful than Julian Nagelsmann or even Thomas Tuchel, he flipped from a back four into a back three in 2017 and maintained a title charge for a second season in a row.
Like many before him there was a struggle to assert much identity - at least his own identity - on Paris Saint-Germain. For a hard-working side to effectively carry Lionel Messi was always going to be a tough ask. Now it appears that he has the same challenge at Chelsea.
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Once more coming into a club without a culture, with an overload of players and lots of work needed to be done, Pochettino will need to once again rely on players that can effectively transmit his message onto the pitch. It is a hard ask. Tuchel himself fell short of getting what was desired from this group.
Graham Potter only had things harder after replacing Tuchel. His injury strewn tenure was added to by increasing the squad size in January. Frank Lampard has shown no signs of turning the ship around either. For Pochettino it is a daunting task but one he has experience with.
Tottenham in 2014 were a similar case. Pochettino's skills will be required to make things go as smoothly as possible here and there are certain players that already look perfect for helping him out. Here's five that could be vital to his early days in charge.
Mason Mount
It's simple to say but Pochettino was a key factor in getting truly world class performances and output from Dele Alli. As an attacking midfielder with an eye for space behind the forwards and also in front of goal, Mount matches up to him quite nicely on a basic level.
In terms of the total dedication to hard work, Mount is one of the best off-the-ball players at Chelsea. He is the type of player that Pochettino would love to have and perhaps the expected appointment could help to shift the contract negotiations going on.
Wesley Fofana
Another player built around energy but also sublime technical skill. Fofana is aggressive in his defence, pushing out to press opposition players backwards, but he is also a tremendous ball-carrier and distributor.
As a player able to operate in a five-man backline or an orthodox four-man set-up, Fofana looks the perfect fit to provide tempo in the first line for Pochettino.
Levi Colwill
Not a player that has been on the books at Chelsea this season but it is being reported that part of the Argentine's pitch to become the new head coach is providing a pathway for Colwill. The centre-back has excelled on loan at Brighton when called upon and is seen as one of the best young talents in his position across the world.
As a tall, left-footed defender he is another that will allow Pochettino to play attacking, pressing football but with solidity at the back.
Mykhailo Mudryk
The Ukrainian winger is another said to have been catching the eye of Pochettino during talks with the Blues. Although he is yet to explode in England, there have been glimpses of his quality and electric speed and dribbling to get fans excited.
Pochettino also has previous when it comes to developing rogue wingers, taking Son Heung-Min from a first season flop to becoming one of the best attackers in the world. If the same can be done with Mudryk then Chelsea are in business.
Reece James
No surprises here, James is one of the best in his posiiton and provides the energy and threat from full-back that very few can. Pochettino's Tottenham relied upon Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier at times to be an attacking outlet from defence and James is very much someone who fits that bill.
The hope will be that he can return from pre-season fully fit and ready to go after struggling with his knee ever since injuring it earlier this year. If he is back to his physical best then Pochettino has the perfect player to build around.
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