Chelsea have taken a huge step towards further bolstering the squad ahead of next season following the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino. The 51-year-old was finally unveiled as the Blues' next head coach on Monday afternoon, penning a two-year contract with the option for a third.
football.london understands that Pochettino agreed a deal to replace Frank Lampard earlier this month after weeks of positive talks. The former Tottenham boss will officially start his role as manager on July 1, meaning he has a full pre-season to get his feet under the table and begin planning for next term.
Numerous players are expected to leave Chelsea this summer, but there will also be some new faces too. It appears that Pochettino and co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart have got off on the right foot.
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football.london understand that the trio are in agreement that Chelsea must prioritise bringing a striker, a central midfielder and a goalkeeper to west London this summer. Victor Osimhen has been heavily linked with replacing Kai Havertz in the frontline, while Manuel Ugarte looks set to partner Enzo Fernandez in an exciting double pivot.
David Raya has been name-checked in relation to becoming the Blues' new shot-stopper, though he's said to have caught the attention of Tottenham too. One thing for sure is that Pochettino is on the same wavelength as Winstanley and Stewart which is a great start.
Despite the uncertainty in midfield, Gary Neville believes that Chelsea only need a new striker and a new goalkeeper in order to compete for the Premier League title next season. Speaking on The Overlap, the former Manchester United defender said: "They’re short of a centre-forward. I think the goalkeeper could be better.
"But I just thought when I was watching them [against Liverpool], Wesley Fofana the centre-back I thought was fantastic, they’ve got Benoit Badiashile on the bench, Kalidou Koulibaly is obviously a half-decent defender and the two full-backs have got the ability – if they stay fit – to be the best in Ben Chilwell and Reece James.
"I thought the midfield three of Enzo Fernandez, Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante, behind Manchester City’s of Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan, probably the best midfield as a three I’ve seen all season. They were fantastic as a three.
"And then you’ve got Joao Felix and Kai Havertz – now if you put a centre-forward in there… They had Mason Mount on the bench, they had Raheem Sterling on the bench, they had loads of others on the bench. Thiago Silva to come back.
"I thought, if you put a proper manager there and you get a couple of decent signings, are they nearer than maybe Manchester United are. When you look at Manchester United’s midfield, Marcel Sabitzer, Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes – obviously Casemiro has got to come back in.
"Manchester United need a centre-forward, they need definitely some full-backs and a centre-half as well. So you’re looking at it and thinking, who is actually nearer? Liverpool look a million miles away at the moment.
"Liverpool look like they need a little bit – a lot – of a rebuild. So I think Chelsea showed some promise [vs Liverpool], I thought they played pretty well in the game, they were by far the better team.
"Obviously they’re well out of it at the moment, but they could be nearer than we all think when you look at some of the players they’ve got."
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