3 Chelsea players that Mauricio Pochettino should build his squad around 

New Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has made his first appearance for the club in Cobham. He gave his first interview on Monday and official documents have shown that he has signed a three-year contract with the club.

Chelsea had a season to forget in the 2022-23 campaign. They registered a negative goal difference ratio, finished 12th in the Premier League standings and had three different managers in charge across the season. They failed to make any impact in the cup competitons either, meekly surrendering to the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City.

After spending over £600 million in player purchases last season, Chelsea are currently overseeing a major overhaul with a mass exodus underway at the club. The likes of Kai Havertz, Kalidou Koulibaly, N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic have already left with players like Mason Mount on the brink of completing their moves away from Chelsea.

Amidst this transition, it wil be upto Pochettino to ensure there is some stability at the club and have players he can call upon to maintain the spine of his starting XI. In order to do this, he will have to build his team around certain key players.

Hence, this listicle will look at three players that Mauricio Pochettino should build his squad around next season. Without any additional delay, let's look at them.

#3 Enzo Fernandez

Building the squad around Fernandez could be key at Chelsea

One of the players Pochettino could build his squad is the Argentine midfielder, as he has proven to be a decent player in recent months. Enzo Fernandez was one of the break-out players of the 2022-23 campaign, as his presence in midfield helped Argentina in winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup title.

The Buenos Aires-born midfielder signed for Chelsea for a mammoth €121 million in January 2023. His presence in midfield was constant as he started every single game for the club since joining the Blues. The deep-lying midfielder registered two assists in 22 games but his real skill is shown in his ball-retention abilities.

Fernandez completes an average of 98.72 passes every 90 minutes, completing 84.28 putting him in the top one percentile of midfielders, as per Fbref. His ball-winning expertness as well as his capacity to stabilize the midfield makes him an important figure in midfield for the Blues.

If Pochettino could build the midfield around him, Fernandez could be key in stabilizing the midfield for the Blues, which is lacking leadership at the moment.

#2 Nicolas Jackson

Can Jackson strengthen the attack next season

As per Fabrizio Romano, Jackson signed for Chelsea for €37 million from Villarreal. He is expected to lead the line in the new season with Christopher Nkunku expected to play off his shoulder.

The 21-year-old scored 12 goals in 34 games for a struggling Villareal side last season and is expected to bring back goals to Stamford Bridge, a department where they struggled the most last season.

Pochettino would have to aim to bring the best out of him and try to construct the squad around him as well, just like what Pep Guardiola did to Erling Haaland at the Etihad.

When you take a look at Jackson's attacking abilities, you will notice that he's fast, quite tricky, and his vision in the final third is sensational. Hence, if Pochettino can try to build the attacking aspect of his starting XI around the forward, the attack could run riot next season.

#1 Christopher Nkunku

Will the new manager build his squad around nkunku

Nkunku’s versatility and creativity in the offensive part of the pitch are vital attributes that Pochettino should be looking to explore in the coming months. The Frenchman is also intuitive, and his ability to place the ball in the net is terrific. Last season, the Lagny-sur-Marne-born forward scored 23 goals, and he provided nine assists in 36 games for RB Leipzig.

Having joined Chelsea for a deal which is worth €60 million, Pochettino should try to build his squad around him as his creativity and finishing potential will enhance the attack, and this will help the team to win games.