Pochettino names five Chelsea players to build around as new manager

Suraj Radia

• 9 May 2023 18:55 BST
• 2 min read

Mauricio Pochettino has reportedly made plans to build around five Chelsea players in particular as he edges closer to being named the club’s new manager.

Pochettino has held talks with Chelsea’s hierarchy in recent times and will formally be announced as the successor to Frank Lampard later this week, according to the Daily Mirror.

The ex-Tottenham boss will take over in the summer and look to streamline Chelsea’s bloated squad containing more than 30 players.

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However, Pochettino has outlined five players who he wants to keep around and make a formulative part of his squad going forward.

N’Golo Kante is out of contract at the end of the season and there have been question marks over whether he would be handed the lucrative, long-term deal he was holding out for, given the injury concerns which have seen the 32-year-old limited to just six Premier League starts this campaign.

Pochettino is keen to ‘build from the back’ and believes Chelsea have a number of defenders who can be moulded as part as his squad, such as Benoit Badiashile, Reece James, Ben Chilwell and Levi Colwill, who has impressed on loan at Brighton this season.

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Chelsea will be focused on sales this summer after spending more than £600 million on players since the arrival of Todd Boehly last year.

The likes of Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang are likely to have offers invited for them, while Mason Mount could be sold as he has yet to agree an extension to his contract which expires next summer.

Pochettino is hoping to sign a goalkeeper, a striker and a central midfielder this summer, with an ideal preference for Premier League-pedigree players.

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The likes of Brentford duo David Raya and Ivan Toney have been discussed as options but any incomings will likely be based on whether Chelsea can shrink their squad size and raise money through sales due to financial fair play restrictions.