Mauricio Pochettino’s eagerness to help Dele is admirable.
That is the view of former Aston Villa and Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore, who believes the former Tottenham Hotspur manager’s willingness to get back in touch with one of his old players proves the Argentine is a decent man.
Having agreed to replace Graham Potter at Chelsea, Pochettino was officially unveiled as the Blues’ new boss and faced the media for the first time last week.
Although the press conference’s focus was largely on how the 51-year-old planned on turning Chelsea’s fortunes around following a lacklustre season last time out, the South American did find time to give a special mention to Dele.
Now at Everton and recently enduring a dreadful loan spell with Turkish side Besiktas, the former England international is facing an uncertain future.
“I hope to have some time to call and see because he is a great guy and I want to talk a little bit with him and hear,” Pochettino told reporters, as quoted by the Mirror.
“I want to help him and see what is going on with him. He is still young.
“And for sure he has the mentality. Now it’s a long time since I spoke to him but I want to contact him again and see what is going on.”
And giving his thoughts on the Chelsea manager’s recent comments, Collymore, who spoke in an exclusive interview, said: “We all know the struggles Dele has faced over the past couple of years, so I thought for Pochettino to come out, in his very first press conference as Chelsea manager and reveal how he plans on contacting one of his former players to have a chat, was really something quite special.
“Football aside, the Argentine’s thoughtfulness and understanding tell you all you need to know, not just about ‘Pochettino the manager’, but also about ‘Pochettino the man’.
“Let’s hope Dele has a good conversation with his old boss and can work out what the next steps to take in his career are.”