by Mauricio Pochettino will be determined to get back to winning ways when Chelsea face Everton at the weekend. The Blues will welcome Sean Dyche’s side to Stamford Bridge on Monday evening, April 15, as they look to climb the Premier League table.
While Champions League qualification may seem irrelevant, Chelsea remain determined to get into the top six. Meanwhile, the Toffees will be looking to separate themselves from a relegation battle at the bottom of the table after deducting another point.
It will be the west London outfit’s penultimate game before a tough FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City and, with Pochettino under pressure, building momentum will be vital. So, with that being said, football.london he compiled what the big names had to say about Chelsea recently.
Qualifiers for the European Championships to come…
Although Chelsea are only ninth in the Premier League, they are just five points behind sixth-placed Manchester United in the race for Europa League qualification. The Blues have a game in hand over the Red Devils, which could be decisive by the end of the season.
A Europa League ticket is also up for grabs, with West Ham and Newcastle United struggling to climb the table. However, two pundits believe that Chelsea could opt out of next term’s UEFA competitions to escape any breach of financial fairness.
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In an interview with The Athletic, Kieran Maguire claimed that the west London outfit may have to accept a ban. The football finance expert said: “It could be in Chelsea’s interest to do the same with Milan.
“We are moving into the realms of three-dimensional chess here, which some clubs are able to play. By the time you pay the players’ bonuses for qualifying for the tournament, transport, accommodation and other costs, you are not but a small amount of money from the Congressional League.
“You will struggle to get a decent number of fans to attend Stamford Bridge if the opposition are mediocre. That’s not a criticism of them. It’s the economy of today.
“If they exceed UEFA’s limits, the question becomes, ‘Do we want to go and play in the Conference League next season?’ Because they won’t make any money from it.”
Meanwhile, speaking on Sky Sports, Paul Merson said: “I think it’s going to get to a point where they don’t want to be in the Europa League [League]definitely.
“Why would you want to do that on a Thursday night? Chelsea have got a squad together to go and try to win the Premier League, not play on a Thursday night in Magaluf.”
FA Cup glory on the horizon…
Chelsea will lock horns with Manchester City at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday, April 21. Although the Blues need to knock out the reigning champions, Ally McCoist has urged Pochettino’s side what they need to do to reach the final. apple cart
“I think Chelsea have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks,” the pundit said on talkSPORT last month. “Huge amount of work to do, I think Pochettino knows that and accepts it. I think Chelsea are more than capable of winning the cup, City will be favourites.
“You could argue they were a bit unlucky against Liverpool in the League Cup, although I thought Liverpool were slightly the better team. They have a long way to go before they can challenge Liverpool, City, and possibly Arsenal, in the league. “
Pochettino’s future is at stake…
While large sections of Chelsea fans have called for Pochettino to be sacked, Joe Cole has recently launched a staunch defense of the Argentine. Speaking to talkSPORT, the former Blues midfielder said: “It’s a transition period for the club, we know that.
“There are young players and watching them develop, when I watch them play, I want to be there with them. I want to help them. There is so much talent, so much potential and I think Pochettino has done a great job because he always drills that story, ‘you can’t look at this team the way you looked at Chelsea teams in the past’.
“This is a developing team and the goals are different,” Cole said. “Poch is a great manager. [Graham] Potter was a top manager, Frank [Lampard] he was a top manager, [Thomas] Tuchel was a great manager… I think you need time and they have to work with what they have.”
Big summer transfer window…
Curiously, Reece James and Conor Gallagher have been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge before the summer transfer window. After spending hundreds of millions on new players recently, many believe Chelsea may have no choice but to cash in on academy graduates.
However, William Gallas has already ruled out James and Gallagher leaving west London anytime soon. Speaking to GamblingZone, the former Blues defender said: “Chelsea will not sell Reece James, you have to keep players who have come through the academy and you need players with that identity.
“He is the captain, but unfortunately he is often injured – despite this, we should keep him. It is the same for Connor Gallagher, they both have to stay. I know he has problems the finances at the moment, but they have to sell another player to fix this.”
Then, on whether or not Chelsea need a new striker, Gallas said: “Nicolas Jackson is a player who I said needs more time, and he is still young, only 22 years old age. He is a striker who can improve by scoring more. goals, and has now scored nine times in 25 Premier League games; not too bad.
“I set a target for him to finish with around 15 goals, which would be great. He still needs to improve in front of goal, against Burnley he showed good movement but his finishing wasn’t good enough to take those chances . We can still count on him for next season, because he is still young and he will improve.”
