Only Thomas Tuchel has seen Kylian Mbappe score more goals under his stewardship than Mauricio Pochettino. The German also managed 23 more games in his time at Paris Saint-Germain where Mbappe was in the team, both of their records are remarkable.
The Frenchman's 83 goals in 98 games with 46 assists under Tuchel is a feat of unprecedented scoring at in France, eclipsing what Neymar or Lionel Messi have been capable of. Across five years in Paris he already has over 200 goals and 90 assists in just more than 250 games.
He is, at 24, a global superstar that has won the World Cup, reached the final another time, been runner-up for the Champions League and totally broken Ligue 1 football for the duration of his time there. Since breaking through at Monaco he has been one of the best and most consistent players in the world.
Still four months from his 25th birthday he has 244 career professional goals and 125 assists in 325 games. At a career rate of 1.13 contributions per game his output is nearly unmatched, only by fellow lab-made goalscoring monsters Erling Haaland, Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi.
Under Pochettino that rate stood at 1.34 goal contributions per game, a staggering amount to carry over 18 months. Tuchel's final result was 1.31. Considering the German lead Mbappe to the cusp of European glory and Pochettino is widely seen as a disappointment for his up-and-down time in Paris, the numbers tell a different story.
For all the talk of riffs between the front three - that forced the new Chelsea boss to rejig his high-pressing approach to accommodate for three off-ball passengers but technical and output demons - the goalscoring results are staggering, even for the much-maligned and doubted French league.
READ MORE: Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: Kylian Mbappe chance, Declan Rice bid, Inter talks scheduled
Now Mbappe appears set to leave PSG, as he does every six months or so, and Pochettino is back in work, it is only natural that early links have emerged between the Blues and Les Bleus' undoubted world star. The 24-year-old has turned down the chance to extend his two-year deal beyond 2024 and with PSG fearing losing the £154 million ($193.8m) player for free next summer, he could be sold this window.
Chelsea need a striker and Mbappe is certainly one of the best around. Pochettino is a big fan of his as well. Speaking in November last year he said to Gazzetta dello Sport: "Mbappe is younger [than Neymar and Messi] and still immature.
“He is an animal; he has great charisma but he still needs to find himself. Leo and Ney are total players, they are more responsible although in different ways, while Kylian keeps looking for himself.
“It is difficult for him to distinguish the moments of the game when he has to take a risk and when he should not. He does not enjoy association with his teammates unless he's in the defensive third of the pitch, because he needs space to make the most of his strengths.”
He continued: “Kylian finds no pleasure in having the ball, he only enjoys it when he can run and finish. He is a fast player who needs to see a hare in front of him in order to (have the motivation) catch it.
"Leo, Ney, and even Benzema are stable, they have found the maturity that Mbappe has not yet reached. He is evolving. We have not yet to see the best version of him.”
It was widely seen as criticism but Pochettino's demands on developing players, especially young ones, cannot be lost. It is a drive that has led him to success with some of the best attackers in the world game. He also lifted the lid on a previously failed move to Spain for the attacker.
"We will see how this process will be affected by what has happened in recent months, with the failure move to Real Madrid," he mused at the time.
Only months earlier he had already been asked about the chances of Mbappe playing at Santiago Bernabeu. “What I think is that PSG has done everything possible to retain Kylian and I also agree with that," he told Infobae.
"He is one of the best players in world football today and I think that PSG, having all the resources to do it, have convinced him to stay.
“But I don't think Kylian is the one who designed the new project either. Those who rule, in this case the president, are those who would have thought that the most convenient thing was a new project in the club.”
Although Pochettino didn't last past his only full season at the Parc des Princes and missed out on managing Mbappe as he enters his peaks years, there are no regrets.
“For me it has been a pleasure,” he said. “We always talk about it with the entire coaching staff. It has been an incredible possibility to be able to have so many names, so many figures in a dressing room, sharing moments. That has been one of the most positive things, that of having been able to meet them and compete under those circumstances.”
He continued on to say that although Mbappe has specific positional demands, with reports suggesting he doesn't want to be played as a central striker and prefers the position wide left, he wasn't difficult to manage. "For me, it's not true," the Argentine explained.
"He's 23 and already won the World Cup. He's an amazing talent, but the problem is sometimes you need to manage yourself. We are talking about one of the top three, top five best players in the world and it's not easy for him to manage himself because he's not mature enough, he's still a child.
"But I think he's doing well and sometimes people talk too much but it's not like this."
His description of Mbappe as a kid once more gained attention but it not to be taken wildly out of context. He has also been extremely open about his maturity and interest in the game. “Kylian loves football, he loves to talk about football,” Pochettino told The Guardian in 2021.
“He asks about England – how is the game, the mentality and the culture there? He’s only 22 but very mature, confident in his talent and open. He can speak French, of course, but also perfect English and Spanish. I speak in English and Spanish with him – more English than Spanish.
"I said to him the other day: ‘I need to practise my French with you, to improve,’ and he said: ‘Sure, but it’s better for me to talk in English.’ He loves to practise different languages.”
Whether this is something that could open him up to a move to England or not this window remains to be seen. Mbappe is far from the only striker target on the market currently with Harry Kane also admired by Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid. For Pochettino, who has had the pleasure of managing both players, there is a profound difference between them.
"Harry is someone who does need to feel connected with the game," he wrote for The Athletic during the World Cup. "But Kylian is the opposite. If he doesn’t touch the ball, he’s relaxed. He’s so confident in himself, he knows that when the ball reaches him, he is still going to beat his opponent and do what he knows best.
"Kylian also loves to watch football, and to talk about football. Sometimes, players with that much talent are not so interested in tactics, organisation and how teams play.
"They’re more focused on amazing goals or actions. But Kylian loves to talk about tactics and to understand the game. This is something that unites Harry and Kylian. They really love the game.
"Sometimes, big players love playing football but they don’t love the game itself. But these two genuinely love the game itself. They love to talk about football, they love to talk about tactics, they have brains that really understand football."
He also added that he wishes to see a dream team of the pair on the same pitch for the same team. "And this is why I think it would be so good to see them playing together. They would be completely compatible. It could be similar to the bond that Harry has with Son Heung-min at Spurs. The connection would be amazing, and the two could share ideas about tactics and movements.
"Maybe it will never happen; when I was at PSG, I knew Tottenham would never want to sell Harry. And I never wanted to do anything that would affect Tottenham, because I love Tottenham.
"But maybe one day in the future, if I am at a different club, and if Harry has decided to leave Tottenham, maybe I would try to bring Harry with me. And so if you asked me to name two great attacking players who could play well together, it would be Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe."
There has perhaps never been a better chance for the two to be moving to the same club in the same summer and with Pochettino now supported by the ambition and finance of Todd Boehly at Chelsea, who knows?
READ NEXT:
Mason Mount makes unexpected decision as Chelsea stars respond to social update amid transfer
Mauricio Pochettino makes 11 player decision ahead of Chelsea start with major formation hint
