Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino would have blocked a move for Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe in the summer.
According to Ben Jacobs’ column for Si Phillips Talks Chelsea, Mauricio Pochettino had “no interest” in trying to sign Kylian Mbappe or his former PSG team-mate Neymar and would have told his bosses no if they were keen on trying to do a deal.
The France international’s future had come into doubt during the summer with his contract running down.
In the end, though, he remained at the Parc des Princes.
Unrealistic target
Maybe Pochettino thought pursuing Mbappe would have just been a waste of time.
The 24-year-old, who has been hailed as a “world-class” player by France manager Didier Deschamps, is probably the best forward in football.
It is hard to imagine any manager rejecting Mbappe if the opportunity to sign him genuinely presented itself.
With Chelsea not in the Champions League and changing their wage structure under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, the World Cup winner would have been an unrealistic target, and maybe Pochettino realised that.
The two, of course, worked with each other at PSG, so something could have happened there to put the Argentine off, or maybe it is a tactical thing, who knows? Whatever the reason, there is no good reason for not going after Mbappe, unless you feel there is no chance of actually landing him, which may have been the case with Pochettino here.
It is a shame, as the former AS Monaco star is probably every club and manager’s dream signing.
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