Mauricio Pochettino will hand eight players their informal debut in Chelsea’s game against Wrexham
Mauricio Pochettino is expected to line up eight debutants with an average age of 20 in Chelsea’s first pre-season game against Wrexham, as he is set to put youngsters to the test.
According to Football.London, (h/t Daily Mail), the Argentine boss is set to include the following players in his line-up for the Wrexham game: Lucas Bergstrom; Malo Gusto; Trevoh Chalobah; Bashir Humphreys; Marc Cucurella; Cesare Casadei; Andrey Santos; Diego Moreira; Carney Chukwuemeka; Ian Maatsen; and Nicolas Jackson.
Out of these, only Chukwuemeka, Chalobha, and Cucurella played for the Blues last season, while for others it will be their first time donning a Chelsea shirt. The game will take place in North Carolina on July 20.
Given his history of assisting youngsters in developing into experienced players, the 51-year-old is attempting to assist young players to get sufficient expertise and adapt to his playing style for the upcoming season.
He will test these players’ calibre against the Ryan Reynolds-owned club before they face Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle United, Fulham, and Borussia Dortmund in their pre-season matches.
Pochettino is undoubtedly the ideal manager who will mould these young players bursting with promise. The Blues have shown more drive towards acquiring young players under new owner Todd Boehly as they construct their future around them.
All of the aforementioned players will get the chance to demonstrate whether they can stay with the team for the upcoming season or if they need to be loaned out to another club for further development. While Chalobah’s future at the club is still ambiguous, Chukwuemeka has already shown flashes of his brilliance. Cucurella might have to compete for a spot on the team for the upcoming season.
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The others will get a chance to showcase their skills. Although it won’t be a crucial game, it will certainly help Pochettino to observe this match against Wrexham to determine where else he can help these youngsters to improve and be ready for next season.