Mauricio Pochettino has acknowledged that if Chelsea did not have such a youthful squad, they might currently hold a higher position in the Premier League table. In the FA Cup fourth-round replay win against Aston Villa on Wednesday, Chelsea fielded a team with an average age of 22.8. Despite achieving success in cup competitions, their performance in the Premier League has been more challenging. The Blues are currently in 11th place and have already suffered ten defeats this season.
Speaking on Friday, the manager of Chelsea was eager to clarify that the team’s difficulties this season are not solely due to the ages of individual players. Instead, he attributes their challenges to the significant number of summer signings and the time it takes for players to settle at a new club.
During his press conference, Pochettino explained, “I do not wish to be the coach who selects the youngest team in England. We are a youthful team, but we possess a good balance. We have players like Thiago Silva, 39, Raheem Sterling, Christopher Nkunku, 26, or Axel Disasi.”
He further added, “At the moment, perhaps the balance is not optimal. If it were, we could be in a different position. It is evident.”
Chelsea must find a way to reevaluate their recruitment plan because it is clear that spending significant amounts on numerous young players is not the correct strategy. Pochettino’s team has displayed moments of brilliance this season, but there has not been enough of those instances to establish substantial momentum.
According to the Source caughtoffside.com