CONOR GALLAGHER'S ROLE IN MAURICIO POCHETTINO EXIT AS CHELSEA'S PRIORITIES LAID BARE
Mauricio Pochettino's Chelsea exit appears to leave the Blues' path forward clear in many respects.
While there appears to been a commitment to part on good terms, with the decision arriving via mutual consent, Pochettino's departure illustrates the ideological issues that were present in the club's sporting structure. The 52-year-old leaves Stamford Bridge after a year in charge with the club faced with selecting a new, permanent boss for a third time in two years.
Pochettino was named head coach less than 12 months ago, and with it was given his remit to work with the team. Sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley would be those tasked with deciding the direction of the club's recruitment and its structure.
The former Chelsea boss was set to see Brentford's set piece guru Bernardo Cueva arrive this summer, but had previously diminished the notion in favour of working with his own staff. Club priorities and Pochettino's were not always aligned and his role in Chelsea's transfers was not to be significant enough either.
That is perhaps best illustrated through Conor Gallagher. Upon Pochettino's arrival, it was easy to see how a profile such as Gallagher's would be used. From the outset, the head coach was instead faced with questions over the Cobham product's future.
The club made the former Crystal Palace loanee available for transfer last summer and bids arrived but the Blues asking price was deemed too high. Almost a year on it appears there have still been no meaningful talks to extend Gallagher's future as he enters his final 12 months.
Pochettino consistently distanced himself from Gallagher's contract situation. His feelings were made clear regardless - the 24-year-old was the only Chelsea ace to feature for more than 4,000 minutes in 2023/24.
“I am not involved, I know nothing, I cannot tell you," Pochettino said in May. "I think you can see in my starting XI I think, the whole season, was strong with him.
“He’s an important player of course. But I’m not involved in the decision, it’s the club and Conor. I’m not involved, that’s a situation that they need to fix between the club and the player.”
Pochettino labelled Gallagher's influence 'priceless', and the midfielder was Chelsea's captain in the absence of Reece James and Ben Chilwell. It appears the club may prioritise the player's ability to bring in pure profit to relieve profit and sustainability pressure regardless of his status.
Pochettino accepted a diminished responsibility in Chelsea's transfer activity when he was appointed. The former Tottenham coach was unable to arrive at Stamford Bridge until July and a major overhaul had already got underway which saw figures such as N'Golo Kante, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz leave.
"They explained the project. We agreed," said Pochettino on September's transfer deadline day. “When the transfer window was closed I said I need to be more involved now in all the decisions," he later added.
By the end of 2023/24, it turned out that Pochettino's influence was optional. "That is a club decision. Like it was from the beginning, we are going to be there to help and if not, we are going to do our job," said Pochettino in his final press conference.
It is perhaps little wonder that the Argentine posited in his final weeks that he could yet have as big a say in his Stamford Bridge future as the club's hierarchy.
What is clear now, is that Chelsea's ethos and the project will take priority above all else. Their next head coach will be required to be on wholly on board or the club will quickly find themselves in the same situation again.
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2024-05-22T09:12:52Z dg43tfdfdgfd