Pochettino only saved two of 11 Chelsea stars who wanted out amid crisis
Mauricio Pochettino was widely recognised as the perfect coach to turn Chelsea's fortunes around, but the former Tottenham boss inherited a mess in the summer.
The highly-rated Argentine, 51, officially started his role at Stamford Bridge in July and was tasked with rebuilding a club which had fallen into disarray following a calamitous 2022/23 campaign. And in the build-up to his appointment, it seemed like the majority of players wanted to follow Graham Potter and Thomas Tuchel out of the club.
It was claimed that as many as 11 players were ready to quit the Blues in the summer transfer window, including a number of high-profile stars. Some got their way, others didn't, and Pochettino has already worked his magic on some of the stars who ended up staying put.
A report from The Standard outlined that a string of first-team regulars were likely to depart including academy graduate Mason Mount, who would eventually join Manchester United. With contract talks at an impasse, Mount was already planning for a summer transfer prior to Pochettino's appointment.
While Mount did depart, two other academy graduates who were considering their options were persuaded to stay in the capital. Midfield maestro Conor Gallagher has been a regular under Pochettino and has even donned the captain's armband in recent weeks. Levi Colwill, who was the subject of strong interest from Brighton, signed a new contract and has flourished in the heart of defence and at left-back under the Blues' new head coach.
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But while Colwill and Gallagher have flourished since his appointment, the other nine stars who wanted out - including Mount - have all been moved on.
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Levi Colwill and Conor Gallagher have flourished under the guidance of Mauricio Pochettino (Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)Kalidou Koulibaly and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were peripheral figures prior to Pochettino's arrival and were allowed to move onto pastures new.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic and Edouard Mendy were all identified as players that the Chelsea hierarchy would be happy to sell in order to aid their Financial Fair Play obligations and all four were sold for significant sums.
Loftus-Cheek and Pulisic were both snapped up by AC Milan, Galatasaray swooped for Ziyech and Mendy joined N'Golo Kante in sealing a lucrative switch to the Saudi Pro League.
Perhaps the most surprising deal of the summer, though, was Kai Havertz, who was pursued heavily by Arsenal. The Gunners shelled out an initial £65million to bring the German international to the Emirates.
The fact that fans only reacted negatively to the departure of Mount of the nine players listed above speaks volumes in terms of the overhaul Pochettino has overseen.
The manner in which Pochettino has galvanised Colwill and Gallagher and transformed them into genuine first-team players has left fans enthused and should buy him time as he continues to try and restore the club to its former glory.
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