Although no official announcement has been made, Mauricio Pochettino is likely keeping a very close eye over several Chelsea players ahead of his arrival. As football.london reported earlier this month, the former Tottenham boss has agreed to become the next Blues manager with July 1 set as the date his tenure officially begins.
In just over a week it will be the one-year anniversary of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital taking over Chelsea and to say it's been a difficult first 12 months for the co-owner would be a significant understatement. The sacking of Thomas Tuchel left many bemused and the failure of his successor Graham Potter brought more questions with the interim appointment of Frank Lampard the final nail in the coffin of many for the 2022/23 season.
However, the arrival of Pochettino presents a chance to start afresh both on the pitch and off the pitch. Regarding the latter, it will be another crucial summer for transfers with numerous stars expected to depart along with the club also being intent on adding depth to a number of positions with new arrivals.
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Christopher Nkunku will likely be the first confirmed signing after he agreed a pre-contract with the west Londoners towards the end of 2022. Malo Gusto, who Chelsea signed in January, will also link back up with his now parent club after he returned back to Lyon on loan for the remainder of this campaign.
Levi Colwill is another player who will return to Chelsea following a fruitful loan spell at Brighton. The Blues very nearly sanctioned the permanent sale of the defender to the Seagulls, but the move was changed to instead be a season-long loan.
That late call, in hindsight, looks to have been Chelsea's best transfer decision last summer as Colwill seems set for a key role under Pochettino. According to the Evening Standard, the Argentine is thought to have been impressed by his spell on the south coast.
The pathway isn't perfectly clear for Colwill as Chelsea have signed four defenders that could play in his position in the last two transfer windows. However, the futures of Marc Cucurella and Kalidou Koulibaly are up for debate, while the one player most likely to stop Colwill from getting into the team now looks set to miss the first few months of Pochettino's reign.
Benoit Badiashile suffered a training injury prior to the clash with Manchester City and football.london understands the resultant diagnosis will likely mean the French defender misses pre-season and the beginning of next season. With no real chance to impress Pochettino, it could be a long time before Badiashile, who signed for the club in the January transfer window in a £35million deal, returns to the first-team picture especially if Colwill shines.
As he will be the only left-footed natural centre-back, Colwill could easily become Pochettino's first Chelsea undroppable given his clear quality and the lack of obvious competition he faces for the role.
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