“It’s not easy for a player to adapt quickly” - Mauricio Pochettino backs Chelsea attacker to come good after underwhelming 1st season

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has backed Raheem Sterling to revive his form in the upcoming season. The England international did not have the best debut season at Stamford Bridge as he only found the back of the net nine times and provided four assists in 38 games across all competitions.

The fleet-footed winger joined Chelsea last summer from Manchester City in a deal worth £47.5 million but failed to find his best form. He also missed a total of nine games with injuries and struggled for consistency as the Blues could only secure a 12th-placed finish in the Premier League.

Mauricio Pochettino has, however, tipped the former Liverpool star to come good this season. He also highlighted that the Blues need to trim their squad as they had too many players in the same positions.

The former Tottenham Hotspur manager said, as quoted by The Guardian:

“We are talking about a really good player. But sometimes it’s not easy for a player to adapt quickly and show the same performance that he maybe had at the other club. We need to reduce the number of people in the squad because it was so big. People need to find their space in the training ground, then in training, then in the team."

Pochettino also urged the fans to support the footballers and exhorted the players to fight for the club.

“We can’t just blame the players," he added. "We need to see what is going on and why they are not performing in the way we expect. When all is clear, we cannot give excuses to them not to perform. We need to clean everything and say: ‘Come on – now it’s up to you, show me that you are ready to play for this club’.”

Chelsea have been quite active in the transfer market this time out and have welcomed two new players in the form of Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku.

The Blues have also parted ways with a host of players like Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, N'Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mateo Kovacic, Edouard Mendy, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Cesar Azpilicueta among others.

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Chelsea ready to make a move for Serie A forward

Chelsea are reportedly set to make an offer for Juventus' striker Dusan Vlahovic, valued at around €80 million. The Serbian international has emerged as one of the top targets for the Blues as Mauricio Pochettino looks for a top-class number nine to spearhead his attack.

Chelsea have already signed highly-rated Senegalese forward Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal for around £30 million. However, it is widely speculated that they are in the market for an established regular striker.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Vlahovic is highly regarded by the Blues and they are preparing an offer of around €65 million. Juventus, however, reportedly value the Serb at €80 million.

Dusan Vlahovic joined the Old Lady from Fiorentina in January 2022 in a deal worth around €70 million. However, the striker has struggled to live up to his price tag having scored just 23 goals in 63 appearances so far.