Guten Tag. Not sure how it’s already mid-May, but we’re here.

Welcome to the Weekend Special of the The Free Transfer— the 5 minute daily football newsletter, filling you in on what’s important.

Today’s agenda:

• Pochettino set to join Chelsea as new manager this summer 🇦🇷 →🔵 

• Has Harry Kane hit a breaking point with Spurs? 🏆️ or 👼 

POCHETTINO SET TO JOIN CHELSEA AS NEW MANAGER THIS SUMMER 🇦🇷 →🔵

Over a month after bringing Graham Potter’s unglorious 6-month reign to an end, Todd Boehly seems to have agreed to bring Mauricio Pochettino back to London as Chelsea’s manager.

Let’s take a look at his strengths and weaknesses ⤵️ 

Strengths and Weaknesses

Ballin’ on a budget 💸 

Strength

• Pochettino at times seemed to turn water into wine at Spurs, often overperforming their expectations… especially when you consider the budget he had to work with under Daniel Levy

• In his 4 full seasons at the club, he had Spurs just about averaging a 3rd place finish each season with a £20mm net spend per season— not to mention he took them to a UCL final!

  • Compare this to Spurs’ average finish of ~5-6th place in the half-decade before him, this was a great feat

Weakness

• As is oftentimes the case with small budget overachievers, when his budget and player quality scaled up at PSG, he was not able to scale up his achievement at the club

• But was it a poisoned chalice to begin with? Is Chelsea? 👀 

Developing players 🥀🚿 

Strength

• Pochettino has been known for his ability to develop young players, allowing them to flourish into their full potential

• See: Harry Kane, Dele Alli (😢), Heung-Min Son, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, etc.

• Testaments like that were likely music to Boehly’s ears as he has made it no secret that he is trying to buy up all the young talent on the market.

  • Can Pochettino do the same for the likes of Enzo, Mudryk, Fofana, Nkunku, and co?

Weakness

• Arsene Wenger once said, “You pay for the education of young players with points.”

  • Will Pochettino be given the time and points to do so?

  • Boehly has already shown he has the same ruthless streak that Abramovich did as owner of Chelsea

Balancing profiles ⚖️ 

Strength

• Pochettino was a “great balancer” at Spurs, often forced to choose lackluster players at his disposal in order to accomodate the shortcomings of others.

• We have seen Ancelotti do a scaled-up version of this at Real Madrid, putting players in positions that some would consider strange but achieving a perfect balance— can Pochettino do that at Chelsea?

 Weakness

• Never too much of a weakness but— will this work against him when he is given every player he wants in any position?

  • Higher pressure and expectations could be detrimental

Gaffer’s Bet

• Pochettino is actually the perfect manager for Chelsea right now

• His ability to balance out a lopsided squad to get short-term results + develop young players will buy him goodwill with both Todd Boehly and Chelsea fans

  • This will give him enough time to instill his ideas, and from there it’s on him to scale up the results with growing expectations 

AN INFLECTION POINT FOR HARRY KANE 🏆️ OR 👼 

Harry Kane has become Spurs’ all-time leading scorer and just tied Mo Salah for “the most PL matches scored in" for one season (24 matches with a goal).

This is a common theme throughout his career so far.

So will Kane sign a new contract with Spurs, committing himself to the club until the end of his career? Or will he seek new pastures in search of major team trophies?

He turns 30 years old this summer, and has one year left on his current contract.

Stick or twist?

The argument for staying 🏡 

• In the era of player power and gargatuan spending, Harry Kane has been a shining light as the superstar who stays loyal to his home club and does everything he can to bring them to new heights.

  • The 2nd and 3rd place PL finishes, bringing his club to the Champions League, etc.

• Harry Kane is already a Spurs legend, but winning a major trophy with the club would elevate him to Spurs’s and one of the Premier League’s all-time best.

The argument for leaving 🧑‍✈️ 

• Spurs have floundered for the past 4 years since Pochettino’s departure.

  • “Serial winners”, José Mourinho and Antonio Conte, failed to bring silverware to the club, and now Spurs are looking to “start a new project”

  • And according to Fabrizio Romano, “Tottenham want to make Harry Kane the face of the project for the future of the club.”

• There is known interest at home and abroad from big clubs like Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Chelsea, all of whom have annual ambitions for Europe’s most elite trophies.

• Can he take Spurs any further?

• Will he ever get the help he needs to win major trophies with the club?

Facts of the matter 💭 

• Harry Kane is 30 this summer and entering the final year of his contract.

• New contract= finish career at Spurs

• Finish career at Spurs= high risk of no trophies, high upside for legacy if he does win Spurs a trophy

• Leaving Spurs= higher chance of trophies, lower ceiling to his Spurs legacy

• The clock is ticking on the best years of his career ⏳️ 

Gaffer’s Bet

• Kane signs a new contract with Spurs this summer and finishes his career at the club.

  • Clubs that are interested in him cannot afford him, or are not in “win-now” mode

• As for trophies, we will have to see who Spurs hire and the type of window they have relative to their rivals…

Put your feet up today & enjoy some footy wherever you are in the world.

See you tomorrow for weekend round-up!

If you like what we’re offering, please share with your friends ⤵️