Sports

Mauricio Pochettino Gives Chelsea Green Light To Sign ‘next Steven Gerrard’ As Dream N’Golo Kante Heir

Chelsea are in the market for a new midfielder or two this summer and Mauricio Pochettino has identified another star he’d like at Stamford Bridge

Pochettino gives Chelsea green light to sign ‘next Gerrard’ as dream Kante heir (Image: Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Luis Suarez has already explained why Mauricio Pochettino reportedly should sign Federico Valverde from Real Madrid. The 24-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Chelsea following the 51-year-old’s appointment in west London.

Valverde, who sees his contract at the Santiago Bernabeu expire in 2027, has featured 56 times for Carlo Ancelotti’s side this season, directly contributing towards 19 goals. While Barcelona may have beaten Los Blancos to the La Liga title, his impressive performances helped the Spanish giants venture into the Champions League semi-final.

With the Blues in the market for a new midfielder or two this summer, the Uruguay international has reportedly been identified as a target by Pochettino. N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mateo Kovacic all face uncertain futures at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea conducting a summer clear out.

The west Londoners have been heavily linked with both Moises Caicedo and Manuel Ugarte lately, though the race for Valverde has built a head of steam recently. According to Spanish outlet SPORT, the newly-appointed Chelsea boss has convinced the club to offer up to £85million for the Real Madrid star.

The report states that Los Blanco view Valverde as untouchable and will therefore not entertain any offers. However, if Pochettino can get his hands on the Uruguayan then the Blues could be signing the next Steven Gerrard.

In an interview with MARCA, Luis Suarez compared his fellow countryman to his former Liverpool teammate. The former Barcelona striker said: “Honestly – and there are the newspaper archives from 2017 when Fede debuted in the national team – I already said that he reminded me of Steven Gerrard, who was my teammate at Liverpool.

“He has similar conditions. A box to box, with punch, change of pace, a lot of arrival. I don’t want to compare, but the characteristics are similar. I saw Fede coming and he has made tremendous progress, surrounded by big stars. He did very well.”

Valverde is widely regarded as one of the world’s top midfielders, and Joe Cole believes that he could be just as good as Jude Bellingham. Speaking on BT Sport in November following Real Madrid’s win over Celtic, the former Chelsea ace said: “He’s standing right at the top of the tree with Bellingham in the young players, and he’s on the verge of becoming the best.

“He’s box-to-box, he scores goals, he’s a technician he was the unsung hero in the final, I thought he was outstanding against Liverpool. He drove that team forward, he’s a powerful boy, took his goal lovely, and he’s one that I earmarked about two years ago.

“He’s found it tough getting into Casemiro, Kroos and Modric, they’ve been incredible. He’s had to wait, bide his time and learn from the greats, take a little bit from everyone’s game.

“His stats this year are unbelievable, his goals, assists, goal involvements, incredible player and we talk a lot about Bellingham in this country, but this kid is every bit as good as Bellingham.”

Soucre: football.london

Related Posts

After an incredible campaign, Ohtani was nominated for MVP

LOS ANGELES — Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani was named among the nominees for Major League Baseball’s National League Most Valuable Player award on Monday (Tuesday Manila time) after…

แข้ง ทีมชาติไทย รายงานตัวก่อนซ้อมเกมอุ่นเครื่องฟีฟ่า เดย์ พ.ย.นี้

เมื่อวันจันทร์ที่ 11 พฤศจิกายน 2567 ขุนพล “ช้างศึก” ทีมชาติไทย ทยอยเดินทางมารายงานตัว เพื่อเข้าแคมป์เก็บตัวฝึกซ้อมก่อนลงแข่งขันฟุตบอลอุ่นเครื่องรายการ International Exhibition Matches ตามปฏิทินฟีฟ่า เดย์ ในระหว่างวันที่ 14-17 พฤศจิกายนนี้ พบ “ทีมชาติเลบานอน” และ “ทีมชาติลาว” การรายงานตัวในครั้งนี้มีเหล่านักเตะที่มีรายชื่อนำโดย ศฤงคาร พรหมสุภะ (สุโขทัย เอฟซี) , พีรดนย์…

David Campese’s Autumn Nations Series Team of the Week: ‘Freakish’ Springboks star features as several ‘harsh calls’ made

Following a sensational weekend of the Autumn Nations Series, Wallabies great David Campese selects his Team of the Week. “Firstly, I have to say what a thrilling weekend…

Aussie sevens star signs with NRL club in ‘huge blow’ weeks after taking out game’s top award

In a “huge blow” to Australia’s men’s sevens team, reigning player of the year Nathan Lawson is set to leave the code to join the Dragons in the…

‘We like that challenge’ – Pumas flanker Juan Martín González primed for Ireland shot

South Africa, check. New Zealand, check. Australia, check. France, check. Ireland? Argentina arrive to Dublin on Friday evening looking to inflict a second Autumn Nations Series defeat in…

Former All Black critisizes Ireland’s ‘motivation’ after Autumn Nations Series defeat

After one of the most anticipated Test matches on the end-of-year tour, former All Black Jeff Wilson has criticized  Ireland and how they played in Dublin. Wilson’s comments come after…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *