Pochettino could sign 'little Messi' for Chelsea

Stuart Telford

• 4 May 2023 12:04 BST
• 3 min read

Mauricio Pochettino is set to be appointed as Chelsea manager at the end of the season, and his appointment could see a former Tottenham Hotspur prodigy follow him to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea are set for an overhaul this summer, with Pochettino the odds-on favourite to succeed Frank Lampard in the Stamford Bridge hot seat at the end of the season.

There will be sweeping changes to the playing staff at the same time, after Todd Boehly sanctioned a £600 million spend on players who have since brought the club closer to relegation than European qualification.

READ: Todd Boehly defends abysmal Chelsea record

Quite aside from their performances, the shadow of Financial Fair Play also looms large.

One player expected to attract interest is Sporting CP winger Marcus Edwards, who graduated from Spurs' youth academy when Pochettino was manager in 2015.

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 16, 2022

Poch: 'Edwards a little Messi'

"Marcus Edwards [is] another sensationally talented player with the ability to dazzle - he's a 'little Messi,'" Pochettino said of the youngster in the book 'Brave New World: Inside Pochettino's Spurs,' written by Guillem Balague in 2017.

"With previous experience under Pochettino and as a London-born player the logic behind [Edwards'] return is there," Football London now report. "For Chelsea, it could also be one [transfer] they turn their attention to."

READ: Pedro Porro to Tottenham: How wonderkid decision unlocked transfer

Former England youth international Edwards has blossomed in Portugal since leaving Tottenham for Vitoria de Guimaraes in 2019, with Sporting paying €7.8 million for his signature in January 2022.

This season he has contributed seven goals and nine assists from 29 Portuguese Primeira Liga games, reportedly attracting the interest of Antonio Conte before the Italian was sacked by Tottenham in March.

Edwards is now valued at €12.1m by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, and could prove to be an absolute steal if Pochettino can help him fulfil his potential in West London.