Mauricio Pochettino isn’t the only person under pressure (Picture: Getty Images)
Mauricio Pochettino is not the only high-profile figure at Chelsea coming under increased scrutiny with questions being asked behind the scenes about the club’s recruitment team, according to reports.
The west Londoners shipped four goals for the second consecutive Premier League match in Sunday’s 4-2 defeat to Wolves and have now fallen below them in the table.
Pochettino’s side have conceded 39 goals in 23 league games – a worse defensive record than under Graham Potter – and have actually let in more goals than 18th-placed Everton.
They currently sit in 11th place in the table and are 15 points adrift of Aston Villa in fourth place, with a place in Europe looking like a long shot via their league placing – though they could qualify if they win the Carabao Cup.
Pressure is heating up on Pochettino after a 10th league lose of a largely miserable campaign, with Thiago Silva’s wife, Belle, even suggesting he needs to go.
But Pochettino is not seen as being solely responsible for Chelsea’s current struggles, with the Daily Mail reporting that key figures behind the scenes are also looking at those in charge of player recruitment.
Paul Winstanley, Laurence Stewart and Joe Shields all hold senior recruitment positions and have focused almost exclusively on signing young players with potential.
Chelsea’s poor recruitment cannot be blamed on Pochettino (Picture: Getty)
But there is now a feeling that the approach has been a mistake and there should have been more variety to the squad building, with the team now lacking leadership and experience.
Little thought was given to those aspects when players were brought in and on Sunday against Wolves only Thiago Silva – who is likely to leave when his contract expires in the summer – and third-choice keeper Marcus Bettinelli were over the age of 30.
The rest of the squad are predominantly young, inexperienced players – or, at least, have a lack of experience in the Premier League.
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It is even suggested that rival Premier League clubs have actually targeted that young core as a specific weakness this season, feeling the naivety is something that can be exploited.
Pochettino has had relatively minimal input in the makeup of the squad and the types of players targeted, which is a mitigating factor when analysing the season and his managerial performance.
It is also felt that, with three senior figures all working on recruitment, there are potentially too many voices and that has led to difficulties in implementing a clear transfer strategy.
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