Threadbare Chelsea head on US tour with just SIX midfielders, who average only 7.6 Premier League starts each for the Blues, to leave fans fearing the worst for Mauricio Pochettino's rapid rebuild
Chelsea's threadbare squad for their pre-season tour has left Blues fans fearing the worst already, given how new boss Mauricio Pochettino is taking just six midfielders with him to the US.
More alarmingly, those six midfielders – which include Enzo Fernandez, Conor Gallagher, Carney Chukwuemeka, Lewis Hall, Andrey Santos and Cesare Casadei – have averaged just 7.6 starts in the Premier League each.
Fernandez and Gallagher are the Blues' only senior central midfielders in the squad, leaving Pochettino with a selection headache already.
Fernandez managed 18 starts in the Premier League in his debut campaign for the club last season following his record £107million move from Benfica in January, while Gallagher has racked up the same amount since making his Chelsea debut in 2022.
Chukwuemeka, 19, has only been named in the starting line-up twice for Chelsea in the past, having spent time out on loan at Aston Villa previously.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Hall has started eight times for Chelsea since breaking through from the academy but only one of those starts has come in midfield.
Santos and Casadei are both yet to make their senior debuts for the club, having arrived at the club in the last year.
The lack of first-team minutes collectively from the six midfielders – who are all under the age of 23 – has left Blues fans fearing the worst about Pochettino's rapid rebuild, given how it is still taking shape.
Chelsea have been pursuing Brighton's Ecuadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo, but the Seagulls have been demanding £100m for the star, leaving Pochettino to settle with what he has while across the pond for the time being.
Pochettino's pre-season plans have not been helped following their chaotic transfer window already, given the
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