Mauricio Pochettino has hinted that Christopher Nkunku could finally make his Chelsea debut in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.
The French striker was included in Chelsea’s squad against Sheffield United this weekend for the first time since joining the club for £52 million in the summer, but the player did not feature in the victory 2-0 for the London team. Blues coach Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that Nkunku is expected to make his debut against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup quarter-final on Tuesday, but he has asked fans not to put too much pressure on the player and allow him to acclimatize to English football.
Speaking to reporters before the match, the Argentina coach said: “That’s what worries me: putting too much pressure on him and saying ‘oh, now that he’s here, he’s going to make us all win the matches and change everything’. I don’t think that will be the case, because he needs time to recover from his emotions.
“I hope he starts maybe tomorrow and plays and scores three goals. And then let it be regular. But the most important thing is not to put too much pressure on him because he needs to find himself, to feel the competition and to adapt to a team which has been competitive these last four or five months without him.
He added : “That’s why we have to be careful, because he hasn’t made his Premier League debut yet. You know how difficult the Premier League is for all players who come from outside England. The reality is that he wasn’t a player for me to involve after the 2-0, I didn’t want to take any risks with him. I didn’t want to take a risk with him. »
“How do I see it today? I can tell you he can maybe play 20 minutes. Before the match against Sheffield United there were 1 or 2% doubts in my mind. That’s why I didn’t want to take any risks. That’s how I explained it to him.”
