Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino are still a work in progress, and what that means for the most part is that there’ll be a fair bit of experimentation before the Argentinian settles on his best formation and best XI.
In the meantime, results and performance levels may not be as the club’s supporters might like, particularly given the upheaval of the last year or so, however, it’s necessary in order for the project to, ultimately, flourish.
Owner, Todd Boehly, needs to ensure that Pochettino is given whatever tools he needs to do the job and most importantly he has to be given the time to build at Stamford Bridge. Rome wasn’t built in a day and all that.
The pressure is on the manager to deliver of course, though that’s a far easier burden to bear when the board are working with you rather than against you.
Pochettino will live or die by his decisions, as with any manager, and ensuring that Ian Maatsen’s contract has been extended to 2025, per the Evening Standard, appears to be a positive move for both player and club.
Ostensibly taken to keep the interest of Barcelona in the 21-year-old at bay, it also gives the player some 18 months or so to prove to his manager that he has what it takes to survive at Premier League level.
All he needs is an opportunity and that will surely come in due course.
The two Premier League managers played alongside each other at Paris St. Germain in 2001 where they became friends after joining at the same time.Now just over two decades later, they still maintain that friendship with Arteta thanking the Argentinian during his press conference ahead of their heated clash on Saturday.