Pochettino considers dropping 15 Chelsea players

Kante , Pulisic, Azpilicueta and Mendy are among the stars who could have to leave Chelsea this summer, as new coach Mauricio Pochettino reorganizes his squad.

Chelsea currently has more than 30 players, not including about 20 players on loan. According to the British newspaper Sport Mail on May 31, new coach Mauricio Pochettino is considering cutting 15 players.

Joao Felix is the first casualty of the personnel clean-up campaign at Stamford Bridge. A day after Chelsea confirmed the selection of Pochettino, Atletico - Felix's club - announced that the player would be brought back on a six-month loan deal, after Chelsea did not activate the option to buy. Similarly, midfielder Denis Zakaria will return to Juventus on loan.

Chelsea is Pochettino's first club after leaving PSG in June 2022. Photo: Reuters — Chelsea is Pochettino's first club after leaving PSG in June 2022. Photo: *Reuters*

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Edouard Mendy and Callum Hudson-Odoi are all likely to leave this summer. The group of players with uncertain futures include Kalidou Koulibaly, Cesar Azpilicueta, N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Conor Gallagher, Trevoh Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Mason Mount also wants to leave. However, Pochettino is trying to convince the player, who has one year left on his contract, to stay with Chelsea long-term. If Mount decides to leave Stamford Bridge, Man Utd is the most likely destination. Liverpool, Arsenal and a number of foreign clubs have also expressed interest.

Several players are set to return to Chelsea after their loan deals expire. Pochettino will have to decide the futures of Romelu Lukaku, Levi Cowill and Malang Sarr.

On the other hand, according to the Daily Mail , Chelsea could buy a striker, although they are said to be close to signing Christopher Nkunku - a player from RB Leipzig whom they tried to sign last year. Chelsea are also eyeing Napoli's Victor Osimhen, Inter's Lautaro Martinez and Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic. In addition, Chelsea are also negotiating with Sporting Lisbon about 22-year-old defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte.

Pochettino will arrive in England this week to prepare for his new job. He will start leading Chelsea from July 1, with a two-year contract. Before Chelsea, Pochettino led Espanyol, Southampton, Tottenham and PSG. Pochettino's best achievement was taking Tottenham to the 2018-2019 Champions League final. He also won a Ligue 1, a French Cup and a French Super Cup with PSG.

Chelsea finished the 2022-23 season in 12th place in the Premier League, with 44 points from 38 games, 17 points behind the European Cup qualifiers. They also failed in the third round of the FA Cup, the third round of the League Cup and the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Also this season, Chelsea players had to work with four coaches: Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Bruno Saltor and Frank Lampard.

Last summer and January 2023, Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly spent more than $700 million on the transfer market. He brought in 21 players, making the squad crowded. New signing Enzo Fernandez set a record for the most expensive player in England at $130 million.

Thanh Quy (according to Daily Mail )

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