Mauricio Pochettino yet to select his Chelsea roster for USA pre-season trip
Mauricio Pochettino is in a huge dilemma as he doesn’t know which of his Chelsea players will be on the plane to fly to the USA for pre-season matches this summer.
According to the Sun, (h/t Daily Mail) the Blues are yet to fix their roster to travel in what should be a pivotal summer. The club is currently busy in selling players and will now need to bring in replacements sooner rather than later.
The list of departures has included Mason Mount, Cesar Azpilicueta, Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante, Kai Havertz, Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Tiemoue Bakayoko, David Fofana (on loan), Dujon Sterling, and Baba Rahman, while Christian Pulisic is on the verge of joining AC Milan. Surely, a whole list of players are set to come in.
However, the Blues have also pushed back the pre-season return dates of Romelu Lukaku, Hakim Ziyech, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, as all three are linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge. With Levi Colwill also returning after his Under 21 exploits, Pochettino will need to take a proper look at his options before making a decision.
However, there are still a few players the Blues will hope to offload before the new campaign starts, as they are looking to cut down their bloated squad. The West Londoners are set to face Wrexham, Brighton, Newcastle United, Fulham, and Borussia Dortmund in their pre-season matches.
The manager can have an issue with this kind of uncertainty since he wants the player to get accustomed to his system before the start of a new campaign because it will foster camaraderie and understanding among the players during the games.
The sooner the team members adapt to Pochettino’s style of play, the better, as we are still making new additions who may come on deadline day or during the upcoming season. Hopefully, we will have some clarity on the matter soon.
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We will have a crucial season ahead of us, and our first game will be against Liverpool on August 13. Hopefully, players who have been permitted to train for pre-season show that there are enough players to participate in the games.
The trip to the USA is a good opportunity for Pochettino and co to bring the players together. The impact a strong espirit de corps can have on morale cannot be understated.