Chelsea could lose $2 million this season because Mauricio Pochettino ‘forgot’ about one pricey asset at his disposal.
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For the first half of the top-flight season, the Blues manager has announced his 25-man Premier League roster, which includes some of the team’s contentious recent acquisitions. Although a new group of high-paid players have already taken their places, Chelsea made a concerted attempt to rid their squad of a few expensive stars over the summer.
In Pochettino’s first summer at Stamford Bridge, the club spent just under £400m on new acquisitions while earning almost £230m from player sales. In west London, Raheem Sterling and Enzo Fernandez both earn more than £300,000 a week, while 11 players at Chelsea make at least £100,000 per week.
And since Pochettino ‘forgot’ he even existed, one of those making six figures a week is likely to miss the entire first half of the season. After spending the previous season on loan at Monaco, Malang Sarr returned to Cobham, and the former Tottenham manager had to be reminded that the Frenchman even existed after a journalist inquired about his status.
After Chelsea’s 3-0 victory over Luton last month, the reporter said, “I just wanted to ask about two players who have vanished.” “Malang Sarr, who was out on loan last season.”
Pochettino’s instant response, in which he responded with a new query: “Who?” was telling. After that, the reporter repeated Sarr’s name and inquired about Jamie Cumming, an academy product who has spent the previous 18 months on loan at MK Dons.
After a lengthy pause, Pochettino said, “Oh my goodness,” before mispronouncing Sarr’s first name. Malana Sarr and Jamie later? I’m not sure what I can say to you.
It’s understandable that the Argentinean found it difficult to keep up with all the players who have come and gone from Stamford Bridge recently. However, Pochettino had a full preseason to get to know his players at the time and was only a little over two months into his Chelsea tenure.
With a salary of £100,000 a week, Sarr, 24, will earn about $2 million in lost revenue in the five months between the start of the season and January. When that time comes, the player will either be hoping to leave the team or may have accomplished enough by that stage to grab Pochettino’s attention a little more.
Being ahead of someone like Thiago Silva, Levi Colwill, Axel Disasi, Trevoh Chalobah, and Benoit Badiashile in the pecking order makes it a difficult task. Wesley Fofana, a former star for Leicester, might be sidelined for a significant amount of time after sustaining another catastrophic knee injury.
At the end of Sarr’s most recent loan, Monaco had the opportunity to sign him; however, he joined Porto for a brief period beforehand. The former France under-21 international was previously given an opportunity with Thomas Tuchel’s first squad, taking part in the group that won the FIFA Club World Cup in February 2022.
