Former Tottenham manager, Mauricio Pochettino has assessed the current Chelsea squad and told Blues’ owners a couple of players who would not be part of his plans at Stamford Bridge.
After assessing the west London outfit, the former Paris Saint-Germain boss is said to have also told the club to focus their rebuild on homegrown talent.
The Argentine has emerged as favourite to become the new boss at Chelsea and is said to be in advanced talks with the club’s owners.
Pochettino’s deal to replace Frank Lampardl could be completed as early as this week but it is not clear as to whether he would take over immediately or wait until the summer.
Chelsea have spent over £600million since Todd Boehly’s takeover last year with a major overhaul of the squad set to take place this summer. Some of the players bought in the last two transfer windows are academy products of the club.
Now The Times reports that ahead of his possible arrival, the manager has already given his verdict on a number of players who would not be part of his plans at Stamford Bridge.
The likes of Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah are among the academy graduates whose futures at Chelsea are uncertain but Pochettino has informed the Blues that the presence of homegrown talent within the squad can serve a key role in building a winning culture.
Also, after a loan spell at Brighton, another youngster, Levi Colwill is set to return to the club this summer.
However, the likes of Loftus-Cheek, Mount, Christian Pulisic, Mateo Kovacic, Callum Hudson-Odoi, César Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will all have just one year left on their respective contracts this summer.
N’Golo Kante’s contract runs out at the end of the season and Romelu Lukaku will be on his way back from his loan spell with Inter Milan as the Italian side is not interested in keeping him.