Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino freezes out £50m star after deadline-day transfer snub

Posted Wednesday, September 13, 2023 by Express.co.uk

Mauricio Pochettino has taken a ruthless stance with one of his Chelsea players after turning down a move away from the club on deadline day.

Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino could decide to remove Trevoh Chalobah from his squad for the rest of the season after the defender was informed he may not play for the club again. The Blues defender came close to leaving Stamford Bridge as deadline day approached but a deal failed to materialise, and now reports suggest the £50million-rated star could be ousted from the squad until January after refusing to leave.

Chalobah was expected to bring an end to his 16-year association with the club on deadline day with Bayern Munich and Nottingham Forest both holding talks over loan and permanent moves. However, the central defender decided to stay in west London after snubbing a move away.

Less than a year after penning a new six-year contract, however, Chalobah faces being exiled by his manager after being told there is a chance he may not feature again, according to football.london.

Chelsea set their asking price at £50m for the versatile defender, who operates predominantly as a centre-back but can also deputise at right-back or a holding midfielder. But despite interest from Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga champions were reluctant to pay such a fee.

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino freezes out £50m star after deadline-day transfer snub
Trevoh Chalobah: The defender's future at Chelsea looks bleak. (Image: Getty)

The German transfer deadline passed at 5pm with no agreement in place, allowing Forest and Tottenham to make late moves for the centre-back, but he was not keen on a switch to the City Ground and Spurs were rebuffed in their advances due to the clubs' rivalry.

Seemingly frustrated at not being able to offload the defender, Chelsea are now prepared to keep him away from the first-team, with Chalobah reportedly asking if he can play for the Under-23s to maintain his fitness.

The 24-year-old is yet to make a single appearance for the west London club this term despite appearing regularly in pre-season under Pochettino. There were already concerns that he would not be treated as a first-team regular under the Argentinian, despite being a useful squad member for Tuchel and Graham Potter last season.

It was thought that Chalobah would get more game time when Wesley Fofana suffered a fresh injury blow by rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Instead, Chelsea dipped into the market and splashed out £38m to sign Axel Disasi from AS Monaco, a move that put Chalobah's place under threat.

Chalobah has made 63 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions since making his senior debut in 2021 after several loan spells in his development years. He made his debut in the UEFA Super Cup victory over Villarreal and also won the FIFA Club World Cup in 2022 under Tuchel.

But it looks as though his days are numbered at his boyhood club and he could be the latest Cobham graduate to depart, following Mason Mount, Lewis Hall and Ruben Loftus-Cheek out the door in January if a club make an offer to sign him.