Mauricio Pochettino a ‘fan’ of £20m Chelsea player with just one PL start this season

Mauricio Pochettino is a fan of Carney Chukwuemeka who recently snubbed a timely visit to the England U20 camp

As per Evening Standard, the incoming Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is said to be a fan of young star Carney Chukwuemeka, who has had a difficult first season at Stamford Bridge.

The England U20 international was signed by the Blues from Aston Villa for a deal of around £20m last summer. The 19-year-old has only played 241 minutes for the senior team this season and has one PL start, which is underwhelming, to say the least.

Chukwuemeka has recently given England U20 a massive blow by making a decision that he will join their squad a little later for the U20 World Cup in Argentina as he wants to help an injury-hit Chelsea squad for the remaining games of the season.

It is a decision that should not be classed as right because the Blues have literally nothing to play for in the Premier League till the end of this season. If he would have joined the Three Lions’ U20 squad from day one and did well in the U20 World Cup, his stock and reputation would have taken a massive lift.

Moreover, it is not as if the interim manager Frank Lampard is picking him in the playing XI as well. The maximum he might get in the remaining games is a cameo off the bench because Chelsea have a lot of options in the attacking midfield department.

Irrespective of all that, the news that Pochettino likes Chukwuemeka should be music to the player’s ears. He must do well in the pre-season and impress the new manager.

The 19-year-old has the talent to do well. Can he resurrect himself in the Chelsea squad next season and become a key member under Pochettino? Only time will tell.

He was signed with a long-term plan in mind so it shouldn’t be necessary for him to fire on all cylinders under Pochettino during the Argentine’s first season here. Poch trained the likes of Christian Eriksen, Moussa Dembele (what a player he was during his prime), and Dele Alli during his time in N17.

More Chelsea News:

• Chelsea keen to retain goalkeeping coach Ben Roberts
• Mauricio Pochettino keen to build his Chelsea squad around Colwill, Mount, Gallagher and James
• Frank McAvennie backs Chelsea to sign former Liverpool star Sadio Mane

If he sees something in Carney, it is because the player is special. It is the former PSG coach’s penchant to develop young players into superstars that should give our fans even more hope about his imminent arrival to SW6.