Chelsea now want to sign £40m man who once said Pochettino made him feel fearless

Add as preferred source on Google

Mauricio Pochettino is now keen on a reunion with James Ward-Prowse at Chelsea after Southampton were relegated from the Premier League.

That is according to Football Transfers.

While Chelsea are likely to face competition for James Ward-Prowse this summer, the England international’s strong relationship with Mauricio Pochettino could swing things in our favour…

What’s the story?

Well, the 28-year-old worked under Pochettino at Southampton, making 46 appearances.

The Argentine helped the likes of Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw, Morgan Schneiderlin and Ward-Prowse develop into quality top-flight footballers, with the latter in particular heaping praise on the South American for making him feel fearless at Southampton.

Ward-Prowse was once quoted as saying: “The manager has given everyone confidence and belief that we can win games no matter who’s in front of us in the league or cup.”

Pochettino himself also piled praise on the Southampton No.8 – who is valued at £40m – calling him a role model.

Again quoted by Sky Sports, the 51-year-old said: “James Ward-Prowse is basically an example of the player that we are promoting, the player we want to have in this club. In every training session, he gives 100%.”

Of course, these comments were made many moons ago now, but nothing has happened in the meantime to suggest Pochettino and Ward-Prowse think any less of each other, so a reunion at Chelsea could certainly be on.

Chelsea face competition for James Ward-Prowse

If Pochettino is to be reunited with Ward-Prowse, he will have to fend off some strong competition.

As detailed by The Sun, Newcastle, Aston Villa and West Ham are also keen to sign the free kick specialist.

Now, these three usually would be no match for Chelsea in the transfer market.

However, Newcastle and Aston Villa can offer Ward-Prowse European football next season in the form of the Champions League and the Europa Conference League respectively.

West Ham could also be able to offer European football next term, as they will qualify for the Europa League if they beat Fiorentina in Wednesday’s Europa Conference League final.

Nevertheless, Ward-Prowse’s strong relationship with Pochettino could still be enough to swing things in Chelsea’s favour, so be sure to keep an eye on this transfer saga over the summer.