Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino plans to discuss the futures of three Blues starlets once the club return from their pre-season tour. Andrey Santos, Cesare Casadei and new signing Lesley Ugochukwu could all depart on loan before the end of the transfer window.
The midfield trio have all been signed since the Todd Boehly-led takeover in May 2022. Pochettino has used Santos and Casadei frequently during Chelsea’s pre-season schedule.
But the pair, alongside £23m new arrival Ugochukwu, will have their short-term futures resolved in the coming weeks. Pochettino says he is yet to decide if they will go on loan or stay with his first-team squad this season.
The Argentine will meet with sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart in a meeting in London next week. Santos, Casadei and Ugochukwu will all be on the agenda.
“When we finish the tour, we are going to sit, we are already working with the sporting directors, with Paul and Laurence, sharing ideas and we can see how we define the squad,” Pochettino said ahead of the Blues’ meeting with Borussia Dortmund in Chicago tonight.
“They have the possibility, maybe they go on loan. At the moment, nothing is closed.”
Pochettino wants to continue improving his squad despite the arrivals of Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku this summer. A £38million deal for the Monaco defender Axel Disasi is supposedly close to being completed.
Chelsea are known to want another midfielder to partner January’s record-breaking recruit Enzo Fernandez. Brighton ace Moises Caicedo is well liked but a similar fee to the £107m paid for Fernandez might be required to prise him away from the Seagulls.