Mauricio Pochettino has warned Chelsea’s new arrivals that their extraordinarily long contracts are no guarantees of game-time and said he will not accept any players choosing to coast now that their long-term futures are secured.
Since the Boehly-Clearlake takeover of the club, Chelsea have regularly handed out unusually long contracts to new signings. Romeo Lavia, whose arrival from Southampton for £58 million was confirmed on Friday, has put pen to paper on a seven-year deal.
The signing of Lavia follows the completion of Chelsea’s £115 million move for Moises Caicedo, who has signed an eight-year deal with the option of a further year. The likes of Mykhailo Mudryk, Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson are also all contracted to the club until 2031.
“It is not that we sign a player and spend money and they are sure they are going to play,” said Pochettino. “It is not like this in football. Talented players, players that the club spends money on, they have to show every day that they deserve to play.
“My job is to be fair with everyone. [If we] sign a player on an eight-year contract and if he is not involved, with no commitment, he is not going to play. That is my job. It is our [the coaching staff’s] judgement. That is why I say I have the support of the owner, the support of the sporting director, so far.
“And they need to trust in our judgement. That we are going to do the best. If you have an eight-year contract, the player needs to be responsible and show respect, commitment and the quality we expect of them.”
Asked if these longer-term deals make it harder to offload players if they do not meet expectations, or indeed if they are no longer happy at the club, Pochettino said it is the responsibility of these players to make the move work.
“Look, the players cannot be upset,” he said. “We will be upset with the player. Because if we sign a player and are giving them an eight-year contract, and the player is not willing to do what we expect him to do and is not playing, it is because of him. Not because of us.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea will put together a new fitness plan for Reece James in an attempt to fix his repeated injury issues after the club captain was ruled out for the next few weeks at least with a hamstring problem. James has struggled with a series of fitness issues in recent years and made only 16 appearances in the Premier League last season.
“It is a sad moment,” said Pochettino. “He is our captain. He was so excited to be our captain. We are going now to try to find all the information and try to create a strategy to provide him with the best [recovery]. The best thing is for him to become strong, to recover well, and to try to avoid and anticipate these problems before they happen. It is a big job.”
Chelsea remain in the market for another new goalkeeper after Kepa Arrizabalaga joined Real Madrid on loan. New signing Robert Sanchez, who arrived from Brighton this summer for £25 million, played against Liverpool on the opening day of the season.
Asked whether another goalkeeper will be signed, Pochettino said: “That is a good question because we are thinking of that. We are thinking and exploring all of the situations and possibilities on the market. The club is assessing all the options.”
