Chelsea wonderkid sends Mauricio Pochettino clear message he has what Blues desperately need now

Angelo Gabriel has given Mauricio Pochettino a timely reminder of what he could have had at Chelsea this season. The 18-year-old winger joined the Blues from Santos earlier this summer for around £13million and, despite impressing in pre-season, he was shipped out on loan to Strasbourg.

Gabriel made his debut for the French outfit with 10-minute cameo against Olympique Lyonnais on the opening weekend of the Ligue 1 season. After catching the eye, he was then granted half an hour off the bench against Monaco – but by that stage Strasbourg were already three-nil down.

The Brazil Under-20 international was then overlooked versus Toulouse before enjoying another brief cameo against Nice. In the French side's first game back after the international break, Gabriel made his first start for the club in a 2-2 draw with Montpellier – and he certainly left his mark.

The Brazilian wonderkid was a standout performer for Strasbourg, completing four key passes as the highest-rated player by French media. Gabriel's impressive display came just as his parent club, Chelsea, were held to a goalless draw against Bournemouth, handing Pochettino a timely reminder of what he could have had at his disposal.

While the west Londoners didn't struggle to create chances, they did fail to find the net – which has been a common theme this season. And, with Noni Madueke omitted from the matchday squad, Gabriel would have been the perfect replacement for Raheem Sterling off the bench.

Following the draw against Bournemouth, Pochettino offered his verdict on the tie. The Blues boss said: «I think again, it is to talk about deserve but the chances we create in the first 20, 25 minutes, I think we deserved at this moment to score but we didn't score.

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