Mauricio Pochettino urges fans to avoid putting pressure on Chelsea star Christopher Nkunku
Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea won’t put pressure on Christopher Nkunku after the forward finally made his Chelsea debut in a 4-2 win over Newcastle United on penalties.
The forward suffered a knee injury before the start of the new season and underwent knee surgery, which saw him miss the first half of the season.
Finally, the Chelsea fans saw their star signing make his debut when he was introduced in the 69th minute, replacing Nicolas Jackson.
Mykhaylo Mudryk’s injury-time equaliser sent the Blues into penalty shootouts, which saw the club secure a 4-2 win, and Christopher Nkunku was among the players who converted from the spot during the shootouts.
However, the Argentine manager has asked the fans not to put much pressure on the Frenchman, who has recently returned from a long-term injury, (h/t Metro), he told the post-match press conference:
‘’The expectation is to see the best Nkunku, and we need time for him to perform in the way that we expect. One thing is to be available; another is to perform in the way we expect. We will not put too much pressure on him day by day and push him to arrive as soon as possible at his best to try to help the team.’’
Christopher Nkunku finally makes his Chelsea debut
We still have a lengthy campaign in front of us, and we need all of our players to stay fit and efficient if we want to finish in the top four.
There are only a few experienced players in the squad, and Nkunku is among them, so it’s obvious that expectations will be high from him to make an immediate statement in every game, which we cannot keep because he was injured for a long time and to reach full fitness level he will need quite a few matches.
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However, since he recently returned, we must keep in mind that it will take some time for him to demonstrate his calibre. We have a long way to go before he settles into the league. We still have three games left before the year finishes, and these will be crucial for him to reach his peak fitness level and prepare for the next year.