Mauricio Pochettino has reportedly told Chelsea to focus on homegrown talent as he nears an appointment at Stamford Bridge.
talkSPORT understands that the Blues expect to bring in the ex-Tottenham manager as a permanent replacement for Graham Potter.
The Argentine has emerged as the frontrunner to take over from caretaker boss Frank Lampard after Julian Nagelsmann withdrew from the race.
Despite Chelsea’s woes this season, Pochettino is of the belief that he can turn the club back into Premier League title contenders.
According to The Times, the 51-year-old has held multiple talks with the west Londoners’ recruitment team ahead of what promises to be a busy summer.
Since Chelsea swapped ownership last summer, they have forked out over £600million on transfers, with it claimed that Pochettino isn’t keen on another spending spree.
The news outlet has stated that Pochettino is instead focusing on homegrown talent which he believes is vital in building a culture.
Chelsea are admirers of how he developed young players while at Spurs, with Harry Kane and Dele Alli instrumental in their run to the 2019 Champions League final.
It has been claimed that defender Levi Colwill – who has starred on loan at Brighton this term – is set to be integrated into the Chelsea side should Pochettino arrive.
But there is uncertainty over the futures of fellow academy graduates Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah.
And it remains to be seen whether Pochettino will allow any of Mount and Loftus-Cheek, as well as Thiago Silva, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Cesar Azpilicueta, Mateo Kovacic, Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi to depart with the players all tied down until 2024.
Pochettino also knows he has a decision whether to offload Romelu Lukaku when he returns from his Inter Milan loan spell with Christopher Nkunku to link up from RB Leipzig.
Chelsea’s prospect of no European football next season hasn’t put Pochettino off, with the former Espanyol defender already assessing who would start in his line-up.
The former Paris Saint-Germain manager has also informed Chelsea which staff members he would like to bring with him to the club.
It has been said that his son Sebastiano will be brought in as a sports scientist, along with assistant Jesss Perez, first-team coach Miguel D’Agostino and goalkeeping coach Toni Jimenez.
