Mauricio Pochettino expects more from Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo next season.
The Ecuador international prepares to face his former Brighton side on Wednesday night, after joining the Blues last summer in a deal that could reach £115million. Caicedo endured a slow start to life at Stamford Bridge as he arrived with the Premier League season underway following a heavily disrupted pre-season programme as clubs chased his signature.
In a Chelsea season blighted by injury, only Conor Gallagher has played more than Caicedo. The 22-year-old has been a central figure of Chelsea's spine as Pochettino's team make a late charge for the Europa League.
The Blues boss believes Caicedo still has room to improve as the team develops, despite his growing influence. He claims the pressure is now off his ace.
"I expect more from him even if he is doing well," said Pochettino. "I think next season I have no doubt he will be much better.
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"Now he knows what it means to play for Chelsea, all of the pressure off. The players believe in the way that we work and they agree in the way we want to apply our philosophy and the way to play and that is fantastic.
"The idea to have players that really trust and believe and that is why the future will be amazing. H e is one of the players that still has room to improve."
Moises Caicedo is currently the most expensive player in British football history (Getty Images)After a summer overhaul, Caicedo is not alone. Forward Nicolas Jackson has racked up 17 goals this term - more than Didier Drogba managed in his first season in west London.
Jackson was embraced by Chelsea's supporters after scoring the winner against Nottingham Forest. The ex-Villarreal ace has come a long way from being widely chastised for his misses and getting into arguments with fans on the sideline.
"I think Nico has the potential to be a very, very good striker," said Pochettino. "A fantastic striker. Only it’s about patience and time.
"He is a good example. He got amazing criticism from the beginning because he was compared to Drogba from the start.
“But to judge and be so radical in the opinions, be careful," added the 52-year-old, "Because I think it’s about to see what is going on, what we see and Nico, I think through confidence and working really hard is changing the opinion."
Chelsea's squad has been replenished in recent weeks. Reece James made his return against Forest, while Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka could yet appear before the end of the season.
Reece James of Chelsea playing in the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Chelsea (MI News/NurPhoto)Pochettino revealed he is hopeful Wesley Fofana will return to fitness in time for pre-season. The French defender has missed all off 2023/24 after having surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament in July.
Fofana is one of a number of players who could threaten Chelsea's starting XI, that Pochettino has been unable to utilise. The Blues boss knows the club must be patient with a group who have missed large stretches of the season.
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"Yes, of course," he said. "In the case of Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku, Reece James. We need to pay attention in the way we need to provide them with a possibility to be fit.
"Now it is not only a challenge to have them fit now but in the way we manage for a whole season so there are no setbacks again. Of course, in football you always need to take some risks but they have the quality to take some risks. Like Fofana also, one year he is not playing. We will see if he can arrive in pre-season, cope with the demands and play next season. Always we will pay attention on this in the end to not be in the same situation as this season. We need to manage this really well in the summer, pre-season and end of the transfer window."
Pochettino has already putting in place plans for Chelsea's pre-season and beyond. The west London side's head coach has been looking to the future, and transfers plans are in the offing.
"Now is going to start a period where players want to leave," he explained. "Maybe some offers arrive or players that we want to add to the squad. Different things, of course, we have already started to work on this."
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