Mauricio Pochettino is having a difficult start at Chelsea. IMAGO/Andy Rowland / Imago / Panoramic
Already in difficulty after four days, the Blues seem to be back on the same (bad) basis as last season. Hyperactive during the transfer window, the London club is nevertheless sinking into a worrying slump.
25 arrivals and 29 departures, such is the balance sheet of Chelsea’s summer transfer window with a negative balance of 211 million euros, to which are added the 370 million injected last January to attract, among others, Enzo Fernandez (120 million), Mykhaylo Mudryk (100) and Benoît Badiashile (38 million). Compulsive buyer number 1 in Europe since the sale of the club to new owner Todd Boehly in May 2022, the London club has at the same time a catastrophic sporting record which only gets worse as the weeks go by.
12th in the Premier League last season, their worst ranking in the 21st century, the Blues exhausted three coaches (Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Franck Lampard) before trusting Mauricio Pochettino this summer, released by PSG a year ago. The Argentinian technician did not wait long to see the scale of the work ahead of him, pocketing only four points during the first four days. The latest setback at home against Nottingham Forest (0-1) has revived all the doubts at Stamford Bridge, where the opponents now come to impose their law in the middle of the local bazaar.
An increasingly vague strategy
With its bloated squad of 44 players, Chelsea are sailing by sight and the hazardous sports management even manages to lose the new captain Pochettino. “Who ? Who is it ? I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t know because you surprised me and so I’m stunned.dared the former Tottenham coach, at a press conference on August 26, when discussing the future of French defender Malang Sarr, a visibly unknown member of the locker room.
Without a European Cup this season, the Blues are betting everything on a return to the Top 4 of the Kingdom but the task promises to be difficult. While the big laundry took place at the 2021 European champion, who has changed a lot since his triumph against Manchester City, Arsenal shifted into high gear and surprise guest Newcastle slipped between the big names. One more stone in Todd Boehly’s garden which nevertheless continues to require patience, promising a “long-term success”. Will time prove him right? In English football which is more competitive than ever, nothing is less certain.
SEE ALSO – Chelsea’s crazy transfer window
Mission impossible pour Pochettino ?
Before an already crucial trip to the Bournemouth pitch (Sunday 3 p.m.), Chelsea are suffering from a spleen which even affects the infirmary, already very full. The French Wesley Fofana and Christopher Nkunku, who had knee surgery, are the first unfortunate and will miss several months of competition. Just like captain Reece James (hamstring) whose physical problem delights only Malo Gusto, recruited for 30 million euros from OL and installed in the right lane of defense. For the rest of the team, the Blues rely on veteran Thiago Silva (38) behind and the rather promising duo Raheem Sterling-Nicolas Jackson up front, already the author of three goals in the league (two for the Englishman, one for the Senegalese).
After leaving a good image at Spurs, Pochettino knows that he is playing big on the London neighbor’s bench. It remains to be seen whether his management will give him time to impose his ideas in this slump. Disorder and uncertainty reign but the potential exists, especially in midfield. Management broke the bank in August to enlist hopefuls Moises Caicedo (116 million euros), Roméo Lavia (62) and Cole Palmer (47) while the Argentinian world champion, Enzo Fernandez, is already changing as a boss. The abundance of goods does no harm according to the famous saying. It’s up to young companies to prove it to relaunch a drifting blue boat, which has been desperately seeking a course to follow for many months.
2023-09-17 07:48:38
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