Chelsea owner Todd Boehly appears to be close to appointing Mauricio Pochettino as the new boss of the Stamford Bridge side, with Sky Sports claiming a formal announcement could be made as early as next week.
The Argentinian has solid Premier League experience and could well be an excellent appointment if given time – something that Boehly hasn’t exactly offered his managers so far.
Pochettino will be expected to delve into the transfer market and continue the heavy spending that has occurred so far under the American, although due to Financial Fair Play regulations, the ex-Spurs boss will have to balance the books, and this means moving on a few players, too.
The 51-year-old may also turn to the club’s academy for promising talent instead of splashing the cash on unproven players ahead of 2023/24, and this could pay dividends in the future.
The Argentinian enjoyed success at Tottenham Hotspur by trusting youth talent he either bought or promoted from their own youth ranks.
Harry Kane made his Spurs debut in 2011, but it was under Pochettino that he broke through to the first team and turned into one of the finest strikers in the world, while Dele Alli went from a talented prospect at MK Dons to starring for the club as they nearly won the Premier League in 2015/16 and ran Chelsea close the following year, suggesting his trust in promising youngsters can pay off.
There are a fair few players currently knocking on the door in the Chelsea youth age groups – perhaps none more so than striker Bryan Fiabema.
Who is Bryan Fiabema?
The 20-year-old forward joined Chelsea from Norwegian side Tromso IL back in 2020 having impressed through the ranks, and he immediately joined the U18 team at the Blues.
Since then, he has scored 16 goals across 51 matches during his spell in the academy, and having also enjoyed recognition for Norway at youth level – netting 17 goals from the U15s to the U18s – his potential is frightening, and with this ability in front of goal combined, could Pochettino have his own Erling Haaland at Chelsea in the Norwegian youngster?
Until he is given some opportunities in the first team, it is hard to tell. Regardless, he has certainly proved himself in the lower age groups and this could enable him to follow in the current Manchester City starlet’s footsteps over the coming years.
He will need to improve his goal output at senior level, however, as he has scored only three goals during spells with Forest Green Rovers and Rosenborg, but under Pochettino, this may not be a problem.
Forest Green manager Ian Burchnall praised Fiabema following a win over Accrington Stanley in September, stating that the youngster had made a “positive impact”, while after a wonderful display in the EFL Trophy last year against Newport – where he took three shots on target, made two key passes and scored and assisted in a 2-1 win – could potentially be a sign of things to come.
Under the former Paris Saint-Germain manager, Fiabema has a solid chance of gaining some first-team minutes next season and like Haaland, he could well explode onto the scene.