Pochettino is planning a purge at Chelsea. He may pack up to 15 players, including some stars

Chelsea will be led by a new coach, Mauricio Pochettino, from the summer. But he has his work cut out for him because the shaky squad prepared by owner Todd Boehly is not sustainable. Who should pack their bags?

Chelsea’s roster is now packed to bursting and Pochettino will have to slim down the team. After all, owner Todd Boehly wanted to make the team competitive last season, buying €611 million worth of reinforcements, but it had the opposite effect.

The Blues failed to perform at all, changed three coaches and finished a disgraceful 12th in the Premier League. So it is impossible to go into the new season with this squad, especially as Boehly will surely want to strengthen the team. Moreover, Chelsea won’t be playing European Cups either, hence they don’t need to splinter their strength in a week.

But before that, someone has to leave. And the Argentine coach reportedly already has a list of players who should pack their bags, according to the English media.

“Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Edouard Mendy and Callum Hodson-Odoi are all expected to leave, while the futures of Kalidou Koulibaly, Cesar Azpilicueta and N’Golo Kante are all in doubt,” says the Daily Mail.

But there’s more. Denis Zakaria is expected to return to Juventus, Mateo Kovacic, Conor Gallagher, Trevor Chalobach and Ruben Loftus-Cheek could also leave.

Another player who almost certainly won’t stay at Stamford Bridge is João Félix. “Yesterday we were informed that the new Chelsea coach does not count on João, so he will return to us from his loan spell,” Atlético Madrid president Enrique Cerezo said on Tuesday.

Pochettino is thus preparing a major purge, which is badly needed. Chelsea’s squad currently numbers 33 players, plus several more on loan. And that is unsustainable given that the Blues will only play Premier League, FA Cup and Capital One Cup next season.

Source: Daily Mail