Chelsea can sign their own Saka for Pochettino with 'little Messi' transfer

Chelsea transfer news: The Blues will need to make informed deals this summer to get the best out of Mauricio Pochettino.

"My team and I love helping young players. It's like planting a tree, watering it and watching it grow. All the fruit that it bears comes from the land and the environment that you put in place."

That year, and the title challenge in the previous campaign, are two of the best seasons in Tottenham's modern history. This all comes before their underdog run to the Champions League final in 2019, too.

"It's something that will be stamped on every side I coach."

The area that needs the most work is the attack. Chelsea are such low scorers that Pochettino will need to entirely transform their frontline and the way it operates. At Tottenham, as mentioned, it was Kane and Son that lead their improvement but there was a young player that he rated even higher than them at the time.

"Marcus Edwards, another sensationally talented player with the ability to dazzle - he's a little Messi," Pochettino recalls. The winger was 17 at the time and only went on to play one game for Spurs - a 15-minute cameo in the League Cup that season - but he has since gone on to star in Portugal.

At 24 he is now one of the most exciting attackers outside of the top five leagues. He has seven goals and nine assists in 29 league games and starred against his former club in the Champions League group stages this season too.

He only left Tottenham in 2019, still under Pochettino's watch, after his contract expired, but he has drawn comparisons with Bukayo Saka for his playstyle. According to statisticians at Squawka, he is the closest copy of a player statistically.