Mauricio Pochettino has arrived for his official first day as Chelsea manager.
The Blues’ official social media accounts posted a video of their new Argentine boss arriving at their Cobham training ground on Monday morning.
In it, Pochettino can be seen warmly embracing his familiar coaching staff and addressing the camera before heading inside the facility alongside a caption that reads: “This is where it starts. Welcome Poch.”
The former Tottenham head coach’s Chelsea contract officially started on Saturday, but Monday is his first day at the club as the long-term successor to Graham Potter following the disastrous interim reign of Stamford Bridge legend Frank Lampard.
He is set to work initially with a small group of players including the fit-again striker Armando Broja, those who did not play in the June internationals and a selection of Under-21s.
Chelsea have two weeks to train before they fly out to the United States for their pre-season tour, with most of their first-team squad having their own individual return dates to ensure they get a suitable post-season break following their international commitments.
Chelsea have yet to officially unveil Pochettino as their new manager beyond initial confirmation of the deal, but that is expected to happen during pre-season.
This is where it starts. 👊#WelcomePoch pic.twitter.com/scmF0ThuON
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 3, 2023
Pochettino will be tasked with a huge improvement on what was a dismal 2022/23 campaign at Chelsea, ending in their lowest Premier League finish since 1994 (12th).
The Blues are in the midst of a significant summer squad overhaul, having already offloaded the likes of Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, with plenty more sales expected such as Hakim Ziyech and many others. N’Golo Kante is also leaving for a lucrative switch to Saudi Arabia on a free transfer at the end of his contract and Chelsea opted not to bring back loan players such as Joao Felix and Denis Zakaria.
Pochettino has two new signings to work with so far in France striker Christopher Nkunku and Senegal winger Nicolas Jackson, who joined from RB Leipzig and Villarreal respectively. Chelsea are also continuing their youth drive with arrivals such as Dujuan Richards, Alex Matos, Kendry Paez and Diego Moreira, while Angelo Gabriel is close to joining from Santos.
Chelsea begin their US tour against Wrexham in North Carolina on July 19 before facing Brighton in Philadelphia as part of inaugural Premier League Summer Series, then meeting Newcastle in Atlanta and local rivals Fulham in Landover. They conclude the trip against Borussia Dortmund in Chicago on August 2.
