Chelsea are looking to leave their incredibly mucky 2022/23 season in the past as they embark on a new journey under arriving manager Mauricio Pochettino.
A finish of 12th provoked laughs and pointing fingers from the rest of the Premier League but the Blues have since enjoyed an unbeaten pre-season and continue to sign promising youngsters at an alarming rate.
Cash availability hasn’t been a problem for Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter or Pochettino during each of their brief stints under Todd Boehly’s ownership but there are some bargains to be had if the west London giants fancy a punt on a free agent.
Here are four such unattached players with previous links to Pochettino Chelsea could consider.
Hands up if you fancy seeing a centre-back partnership of Sergio Ramos and Thiago Silva at Stamford Bridge in 2023/24? Yep, that’s all of you!
Ramos featured infrequently under Pochettino in their only season together at Paris Saint-Germain due to injury, with the Spaniard making only 13 appearances in all competitions. He’s still a free agent after leaving PSG and has never given the Premier League a crack.
Silva and Ramos as a duo would boast a combined age of 75 and could impart every ounce of their considerable knowledge to promising young defenders like Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile.
It’s another world away these days, but Pochettino first made his name in England as an unknown boss with Southampton. Maya Yoshida was one of his mainstays at St Mary’s and the pair enjoyed a reunion during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Now 34, the Japan international has spent recent seasons with Sampdoria and Schalke, the latter of which released him at the end of the 2022/23 campaign.
It’s a bit of a step down, but if Ramos ends up in Saudi Arabia or America, maybe Chelsea will turn to the 2011 Asian Cup winner.
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There’s less of a link between Steven Nzonzi and Pochettino interpersonally. We’ve thrown the Frenchman in for his previous rumoured interest to Tottenham when he was highly rated and playing in the Champions League.
The 34-year-old has already made his trip to the Middle East, spending two years with Qatari side Al Rayyan, and he would certainly be tempted to return to England – where he previously played with Stoke and Blackburn – if Chelsea made their interest known.
The Blues are especially light in midfield heading into the 2023/24 season with the departures of Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tiemoue Bakayoko, so a temporary deal for Nzonzi could work out for both parties.
Yeah, right! No, but seriously. If Kepa Arrizabalaga can play in goal for Chelsea, 39-year-old unattached shot-stopper Carlos Kameni can. Just ignore the fact his previous two clubs are Djibouti outfit Arta/Solar7 and Andorran side Santa Coloma.
However, he is old enough to remember what playing with centre-back Mauricio Pochettino is like, the pair sharing Espanyol colours on 34 occasions. One of those was a 1-0 win over a Real Madrid side in which Kameni saved a penalty from Ronaldo.
LISTEN TO SON OF CHELSEA, 90MIN’S CHELSEA PODCAST
On this edition of Son of Chelsea, part of the 90min podcast network, Daniel Childs reacts to the latest Chelsea news, including Levi Colwill signing a new contract, the pursuit of Moises Caicedo and the touted Dusan Vlahovic-Romelu Lukaku swap deal.
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