Pochettino to Chelsea? How the Blues could line up

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 11 Jan 2023 12:02 GMT
• 4 min read

Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly waiting in the wings if Chelsea sack Graham Potter. How would the Blues line up if they appointed the former Tottenham Hotspur manager?

Pochettino took Spurs to the Champions League final in 2019 but was dismissed a few months later with results deteriorating and the dressing room beginning to unravel.

He was most recently the head coach at PSG, steering them to the Ligue 1 title last season, but he has been out of work since the summer… and still has a house in London.

READ: Graham Potter needs time MORE than money at Chelsea

SunSport ran an exclusive report recently stating that Pochettino would be interested in the Chelsea job were it to come available - despite his Tottenham past - and Harry Kane, his star striker at White Hart Lane, might be tempted to follow him in pursuit of silverware.

If Kane did make a controversial move to Stamford Bridge he would certainly lead the line, with the Blues having struggled to fill their No.9 position since Diego Costa left for Atletico Madrid in 2017.

They would likely need to smash the club record €115m they paid for Romelu Lukaku last year, but stranger things have happened.

He would have some significant talent for company in the final third, too, in long-time England teammate Raheem Sterling and Joao Felix, who is set to complete a loan move from Atletico in the current winter window.

READ: Exclusive: Why Enzo Fernandez's Chelsea transfer has broken down

Enzo deal off, for now…

Further back, Chelsea's move for Argentina World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez has fallen through - for now. The Blues wanted to include players in the deal and stagger payments; Benfica simply wanted his €120m release clause paid up front.

But there is still time for a deal to be revisited, and Pochettino would relish working with his compatriot. Anchoring this imaginary midfield might be Denis Zakaria, meanwhile. The Swiss has had a hard time since arriving on loan from Juventus, but is just beginning to show shoots of promise.

Pochettino's three-man midfields always have an anchor - think Eric Dier at Tottenham or Danilo Pereira at PSG - and Zakaria could get the nod under Poch with N'Golo Kante injured and out of contract.

At the back, he would have nearly €120m-worth of talent to play with in French pair Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana, with Badiashile's left foot giving his central defence some balance.

Behind them, Kepa Arrizabalaga won back his No.1 status even before Edouard Mendy got injured, but the experience of Gigio Donnarumma and Keylor Navas in Paris suggests he could be in for a job share if Mendy sticks around.