Chelsea tipped for ruthless £150m January clearout with four players to go and Pochettino making Boehly transfer demand
Mauricio Pochettino wants more financial backing from Todd Boehly at Chelsea
Frustrated Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has called for more financial backing by owner Todd Boehly ahead of the January window – and will reportedly look to further boost his kitty by up to a further £150m by offloading four unwanted stars.
The Blues have smashed through the £1bn transfer barrier in the three transfer windows overseen by the club’s American co-owner Boehly since his took over Chelsea from Roman Abramovich in summer 2022. However, despite that heavy investment, there are no signs of improvement at Stamford Bridge with another mediocre campaign on the horizon.
Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Everton means Chelsea have already lost seven times in 16 Premier League games so far, with just five wins to their name.
And with three losses coming in their last five games, the pressure is really being cranked up on Pochettino, who has failed to find a solution to the issues that predecessor Graham Potter also struggled with.
While it is perhaps too soon to consider the dismissal of the Argentine, he knows he needs a serious upturn in results to alleviate the growing heat over his future as Chelsea boss.
And in order to give himself a fighting chance, Pochettino has called on Boehly to finance another raft of signings in January, with the winter window opening for business in just 21 days time.
Chelsea have been strongly linked with a new striker amid links to £120m-rated Victor Osimhen and Brentford’s £80m-rated Ivan Toney.
Pochettino hints at Chelsea striker signing
And admitting his side need a more clinical edge in front of goal, Pochettino told the BBC after the loss at Goodison Park: “Football is about scoring goals and we were not clinical in front of goal.
“I’m really, really disappointed. We didn’t get the point we deserved. I think we were better but we didn’t get what we wanted.
“This was a game to play and to win. It’s a problem we need to check. We need to analyse the reality. We need to talk and to try to improve in the next transfer market.”
Chelsea made four changes at Everton, with Reece James and Benoit Badiashile replacing Levi Colwill and Thiago Silva. Elsewhere, Conor Gallagher came back into the side, while Armando Broja replaced Nicolas Jackson in attack.
And while part of the problem appears to be Pochettino not yet knowing his best side, matters are not helped by certain players not making the most of their chances when afforded to them.
Broja at Goodison was a prime example and illustrated further to Pochettino why his side desperately need a new No 9 to stick away the plethora of chances his side are creating.
Broja set to lead four-man Chelsea clearout
With Broja struggling in front of goal, the Daily Express suggests he will be the first of four names sacrificed by Pochettino ahead of the January window as Chelsea look to generate as much as £150m in transfer funds.
The Albanian striker shone during a spell on loan at Southampton in the 2021/22 season, scoring nine times in 38 appearances. However, his record at Chelsea doesn’t look quite so great with the 22-year-old so far managing just two goals in 28 appearances so far.
Fulham are among the sides considering a move for the £40m-rated Chelsea man.
However, he looks like he won’t be the only player to leave SW6 in the January window, with Ian Maatsen, Noni Madueka and Deivid Washington all in the firing line.
Maatsen has had limited opportunities since returning to Chelsea after starring on loan at Burnley last season. And with the Blues well blessed in the left-back department – Marc Cucurella, Ben Chilwell and Colwill are all preferred ahead of him – Maatsen has been limited to just two League Cup starts and nine substitute appearances in the Premier League.
Washington, meanwhile, has hardly figured since signing for the Blues from Santos, making just one substitute appearance so far. It’s claimed that, at the very least, Chelsea will look to loan him out over the second half of the season and may even be open to the Brazilian’s sale.
Madueke, meanwhile, is also reportedly on the chopping block after limited opportunities this season. That comes after we exclusively revealed last week that the England U21 winger is pushing to leave the Bridge after failing to impress Pochettino.
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