Mauricio Pochettino concedes Chelsea considered selling £60m star he now hails as the best

Since Mauricio Pochettino’s exit in 2024, Chelsea have seen sweeping changes that have reshaped the club into something almost unrecognisable from his tenure.

The former Paris Saint-Germain boss spent just one season in charge at Stamford Bridge, guiding the team to two cup finals before Enzo Maresca took over.

Pochettino benefited from a number of significant acquisitions during his first summer at the club, including the additions of Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, and Cole Palmer.

The Argentine manager also inherited a squad that had already seen some investment. Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella were two key players who had arrived prior to his arrival.

There was a time when the Spanish left-back appeared to be on his way out of West London. A loan move to Manchester United looked close until a sudden change of direction kept him at Chelsea.

Cucurella’s path since then has been nothing short of remarkable. He is now viewed as one of England’s best full-backs by many observers across the league.

Pochettino reflected on this journey during an episode of the High Performance Podcast, highlighting how the defender came up against initial doubts within the club but has since established himself as one of their standout players.

“We create an environment that the player like Malo Gusto that was really young and came from not to play from Lyon finished playing his best.

“Cucurella didn’t play from the beginning and the club wanted to sell him, became the best full-back in the Premier League. Conor Gallagher, Enzo Fernandez, Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Jackson, plenty of players, they grew through all of this,” the former Chelsea boss stated.

Marc Cucurella proving too valuable to leave out