Football transfer news

Mauricio Pochettino has challenged his Chelsea players to “have the balls” to win recover possession back quickly and show more overall resilience.

The Blues have endured a hugely inconsistent first season under the Argentine and again are languishing just above mid-table in the Premier League.

After a thrilling comeback win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, Pochettino was frustrated by his side’s inability to compete with Sheffield United’s tenacity in the tackle three days later – a game Chelsea could only muster a 2-2 draw in after Oli McBurnie’s injury-time equaliser.

Chelsea front up against Everton in the Premier League’s final game of the weekend, and Pochettino has firmly outlined what his players need to improve if they are to reach the level they want to play at week in, week out.

“We have enough talent to win games. But the most difficult thing in Premier League is another phase, when you don’t have the ball,” he told reporters.

“When you don’t have the ball, you need to have the balls. Understand? To have the balls to recover the ball.

“It’s a process to become very competitive, very tough. And I think the way that we drew the game against Sheffield, we need to all feel very disappointed. Because did you see the goal? We lose one challenge, we lose the second, the third and the fourth and the fifth. And then we concede in the same action. And that was the last minute of the game.

“It’s about having the capacity to go there and to say, ‘We are a winner, I’m going to win this challenge, I’m going to be strong, I’m going to defend, I’m going to not concede a goal’. That is not more than capacity, you know, mentality, and all being together.”

Victory for Chelsea would close the gap to eighth-place West Ham United to just a point, with Pochettino’s side also having two games in hand. They currently trail Newcastle United, who are sixth, and Manchester United, who are seventh, by six points, meaning Europa League qualification remains a real possibility if a consistent run of results can be strung together.

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Bayern Munich have reached out to Zinedine Zidane to gauge his interest in taking charge of the team next season, according to reports in Spain.

Thomas Tuchel will leave his post this summer after overseeing a downturn in form which saw Bayer Leverkusen roar to the Bundesliga title, with Bayern officials searching for a replacement for a number of weeks.

Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso was the top target before he publicly confirmed his desire to stay with his current side, forcing Bayern to look elsewhere.

According to MARCA, contact has been made with Zidane, who has been out of work since leaving Real Madrid all the way back in 2021. The Frenchman is known to be keen to return to work and was rumoured to be waiting for the France national team job, only for Didier Deschamps to extend his deal with Les Bleus until 2026.

Whether Zidane would be interested in managing Bayern is unclear, but the legendary midfielder has previously confessed that he does not want to work in a country where he cannot fluently speak the language.

Jose Mourinho is named as a potential candidate for Bayern, as are Julian Nagelsmann and Hansi Flick, both of whom have already enjoyed spells in Bavaria.

BILD recently reported that Nagelsmann, who was sacked in favour of Tuchel in March 2023, is now the top target for the job.

Nagelsmann is currently in charge of the German national team but will see his contract expire after this summer’s European Championships. An extension has not been ruled out publicly.

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Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has urged the club’s owners to recruit more experienced players this summer to compliment his current crop of youngsters.

Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have heavily favoured the signing of young players with high potential since their arrival at Stamford Bridge, spending huge sums of money in the hope of creating a squad capable of dominating for the next decade.

The short-term results, however, have fallen well short of expectations, and Pochettino believes his young core need more experienced heads around them to keep them on track.

“We can keep going in the same way with the policy [to sign young players],” Pochettino said. “But in the squad, we have Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling and Marcus Bettinelli. Maybe Marcus isn’t playing but he does a fantastic job helping the young guys.

“We have experienced players in the squad. It is not going against the project to have some players who are helping the young guys to perform, to be professional, and to understand what it means to be in the Premier League and to be at Chelsea.

“We need to talk and decide the strategy for next season.”

90min understands the plan has always been for Chelsea’s owners to meet with Pochettino this summer for what sources describe as a two-way evaluation, with both sides to be given the chance to give feedback on the current campaign.

Pochettino is expected to raise his desire for more experienced signings alongside questions about Chelsea’s ongoing battle with injuries, which the boss believes has hampered the team’s progress this season.

“There are too many circumstances that make it difficult for the team to evolve,” he continued. “And that is part of the process. Of course, this season is going to help us make the right decisions for next season. That was the question before.

“We need to bring more young players and some experienced players. That is all about talking with the club, analysing, and deciding the strategy for next season. That is really important.

“We need to assess all the boys. Why were players injured, will they suffer injuries in the future, and what is the history of their injuries?

“It’s so important because we need to manage the situation. Now, we have the reality because we are inside and have the information. And now it is about talking to the club and deciding the best strategy again to be competitive next season and to fight for big things.”

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Arsenal spurned the chance to go top of the Premier League on Sunday, losing 2-0 to Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium.

Mikel Arteta’s side had gone into the game buoyed by the prospect of taking a lead in the title race heading into the final six weeks of the 2023/24 campaign after Liverpool’s defeat to Crystal Palace, however a rather abysmal second half ensured that it would be Man City – not Arsenal – who’d be sitting pretty in first place after the weekend’s games.

Goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins ultimately secured the win for Villa on the day, with both coming late in the second half.

Here’s Arsenal’s best and worst players in the defeat, according to 90min’s esteemed player ratings.

Martin Odegaard: 7/10

One of the first questions Mikel Arteta was asked in his post-match interview was ‘why did you take off Martin Odegaard?’

That tells you all you need to know about Odegaard’s performance.

In the first half, the Arsenal captain was undoubtedly the best player on the pitch. Odegaard was at the heart of basically everything positive the Gunners did during a pretty positive first 45 at the Emirates – winning 100% of his tackles, five duels and creating two decent chances for his teammates.

Arsenal fans will be worried about the fact that Arteta confirmed theri club captain suffered a knock which led to him being subbed off on Sunday.

Oleksandr Zinchenko: 4/10

Honestly, there were quite a few options for the ‘Arsenal’s worst player vs Aston Villa’ section of this article.

Gabriel was all over the place, Gabriel Jesus struggled, Bukayo Saka wasn’t himself, but the worst of the bunch was Oleksandr Zinchenko.

The left-back position has been a notable problem for Arteta in recent months, and judging by Zinchenko’s performance on Sunday it’s very easy to see why. During the second half of the game in particular, the ex-Man City man was thoroughly disappointing.

If you’ve been on X since the full-time whistle, you’ll likely have seen at least one post highlighting Zinchenko either losing the ball deep in his own half, miss-controlling a simple pass, or – most criminally – standing five yards deeper than his defensive teammates for absolutely no reason.

It was a bad outing for Zinchenko – to say the least.

Dishonourable mention

Gabriel Jesus: 4/10

Darwin Nunez and Gabriel Jesus are two hard-working forwards who get involved in the game as much as they possibly can, but the fact that Liverpool and Arsenal have them starting up front while Manchester City have the hyper-clinical Erling Haaland is the main reason why neither the Gunners nor the Reds will win the Premier League this season.

Frustratingly for Arsenal fans, Sunday’s game was business as usual for Jesus in an Arsenal. The Brazilian was lively, but ultimately lacked any semblance of quality on the ball in the opposition penalty area.

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Liverpool’s aspirations for the Premier League title took a significant hit as they succumbed to a narrow defeat against Crystal Palace.

Jurgen Klopp’s men failed to seize the opportunity to regain top spot on Sunday, as Eberechi Eze’s early goal secured a hard-fought – well deserved – victory for Oliver Glasner’s side.

Here are the best and worst players from Sunday’s clash at Anfield, according to 90min’s player ratings.

Andy Robertson – 7/10

Arguably Liverpool’s most influential player in a frustrating first half, and the only one on the left side to remain on the pitch until the final whistle blew.

The Scotland international spared Virgil van Dijk’s blushes, demonstrating good awareness and timing to hook Jean-Philippe Mateta’s attempt off the line.

Roberston had 118 touches of the ball, making four key passes during the game.

Honourable mention

Alisson Becker – 6/10

Back in the fold after injury, Alisson was Liverpool’s second best player – although that’s perhaps not saying too much if we’re being honest.

Despite being unable to prevent the opening goal, the Brazilian pulled off a fantastic save from Mateta’s powerful strike later in the game, exemplifying his brilliance in between the sticks.

Wataru Endo – 3/10

Hooked at the break, and deservedly so following a first half to forget.

The holding midfielder simply could not get near Palace’s star man Eze throughout the opening 45 minutes, regularly allowing the talented England international to ghost into dangerous areas in the final third.

Endo wasn’t much better on the ball either, completing just 79% of his passes on the day.

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