Coach Mauricio Pochettino began his cycle at Chelsea from England, where he will have midfielder Enzo Fernández on the squad, after arriving in London after signing his contract weeks ago.
The English institution published a video of Pochettino’s arrival at the Cobham training centerafter confirmation of the signings of Christopher Nkunku, from RB Leipzig, and Nicolas Jackson, who wore the Villarreal shirt.
Pochettino, 51, will direct again after passing through Paris Saint German in France, in which he worked with the Argentine star Lionel Messi, and after a year of inactivity.
“The sports team has undertaken a diligent and thoughtful process that the Board is proud of. We are delighted that Mauricio is joining Chelsea. Mauricio is a world-class coach with an exceptional track record. We are all looking forward to having him on board,” the club’s owners said when announcing the agreement with the Argentine.
“For me it is a pressure and an honor to be involved with Chelsea. I am very happy, we know that Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in the world and it was easy to make the decision to come. Here is a culture of winning. We want to bring joy back to this great football club.”said Pochettino in statements to the club’s official channels.
This way, Pochettino returns to the English Premier League after commanding Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur, team with which he was runner-up in the Champions League, in the 2018/2019 season. He will replace Frank Lampard after a season in which Chelsea had four coaches and failed to qualify for any European competition. For that reason, the squad underwent a strong purge, with the departures of N’Golo Kanté, Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly to the Saudi Arabian league, and the Croatian Mateo Kovacic (Manchester City), the German Kai Havertz (Arsenal) and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Milan).
“Mauricio’s experience, standards of excellence, leadership qualities and character will serve Chelsea Football Club well as we move forward”, pointed out Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, sports co-directors of the English institution. And they added: “He is a winning coach, who has worked at the highest level, in multiple leagues and languages. His tactical approach and commitment to development made him an exceptional candidate.”
Pochettino’s presentation will be with a friendly on July 19 in the United States against Wrexham, a team from Wales playing in the British promotion.