Mauricio Pochettino faces a number of challenging tasks once his appointment as Chelsea's next manager is confirmed. Since early May, football.london has understood that there is an agreement between the Blues and Pochettino for him to take charge of the club ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Another defeat on Thursday evening condemned Chelsea to a bottom half finish, with confidence likely on the floor for numerous stars. Fixing the mentality and morale of the group will be the immediate pre-season priority before deciding on transfers, both signings and outgoings, begins to take centre stage.
A new central midfielder will almost certainly be acquired this summer with Manuel Ugarte, Declan Rice, Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia on the list. The Blues have taken significant early steps to sign Ugarte from Sporting CP, although Paris Saint-Germain are also in the race.
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While no purchase has been sanctioned in the summer window, Pochettino will feel as though he has several new signings in the form of pre-contract arrivals and loan returnees. Cesare Casadei, Malo Gusto, Romelu Lukaku, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ethan Ampadu and Andrey Santos are just a few players that will return to Stamford Bridge this summer which further showcases the need for Pochettino to complete a mass overhaul at his new club.
Christopher Nkunku will also officially join the club on July 1 and there is another signing who will arrive likely under Pochettino's tenure who could be his next Dele Alli. Kendry Paez reached a verbal agreement to sign for Chelsea earlier this year after the 16-year-old impressed at Ecuadorian outfit Independiente del Valle.
The £17.5million deal to bring the attacking midfielder to the Blues has since been completed which will see him arrive at the club when he turns 18 in 2026. His rapid development saw him included in Ecuador's under-20 World Cup squad and given a prominent role in the team which subsequently resulted in him scoring a goal and grabbing an assist in a 9-0 group stage win against Fiji.
When he joins Chelsea, if Pochettino is still at the club, Paez could be set for an immediate role in his team, like Alli was at Tottenham. When the England international signed for the north Londoners in 2015, he was pushed straight into the first-team picture, despite only being 18.
Alli very quickly shone in the attacking midfield role and having very clear similarities to Paez could result in Pochettino making his development a priority. Paez is often among the goals for both club and country with some of his strikes arriving following late runs into the box, a trademark attribute of Dele.
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