Chelsea given boost as Pochettino confirms 2 key first-team stars will return to squad set to face Liverpool in the PL
Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that Malo Gusto and Christopher Nkunku will be in the Chelsea squad to face Liverpool in the Premier League on Wednesday, January 31. The duo are back in time for the Blues as they begin a set of tricky fixtures and are less than a month away from the Carabao Cup final.
Speaking to the media ahead of their trip to Anfield, Pochettino provided a positive update for the Blues fans. The manager said (via Football London):
"It's good news that I think Malo Gusto and Christoph [Nkunku] can be involved in the squad for tomorrow. They will travel with us and the team, that is the good news. Always, we are waiting for the last moment in case there is some surprise, but it is good news to have two players recovered to play."
However, Levi Colwill is out after picking up an injury during warmup ahead of their match against Aston Villa in the FA Cup. Pochettino also announced that defender Trevor Chalobah is close to returning, saying:
"No. Levi is out. He suffered a minor injury in his tendon. It's not a big issue but he is going to be out for tomorrow. Trevoh is really close. He is doing well. I think it's only a matter of time before he's going to be involved again. But he is doing really, really well."
Chelsea can move to seventh in the league with a win against Liverpool on Wednesday. They are currently 10th in the league and would climb above Manchester United, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Newcastle United if they defeat the Reds.
Chelsea missing a 20+ goal striker, claims Mauricio Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that Chelsea would be in a much better position if they had a striker who could score 20+ goals in a season. He added that their performances have been good, but they haven't been clinical in front of goal. He said:
"Of course, for sure, in different position [in the league]. To have a player to score 20-plus, at the moment, after seven months, sure you won too many games and to have more points and be in the table in a different position."
"It's true that our performance if we compare with another team, we are at the top, only in terms of performance, but of course, after we miss maybe this type of player that would make a difference. This is the reality, we need to build our victory in different ways and try to be clinical because we want to win games."
Chelsea have been linked with a move for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen in the upcoming summer transfer window. The Nigerian striker is definitely a player capable of scoring 20+ goals in a season, as evidenced by his recent exploits for the Serie A side. He scored 26 goals and provided five assists for Napoli last season as they won their first Scudetto in 33 years.