has been told to replace goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga by Paul Merson, who says one dream summer signing would turn the Blues into title contenders.
Pochettino after agreeing to become Chelsea’s sixth permanent manager in five years at the end of last season.
The Argentine has a big job on his hands, with Chelsea finishing just 12th in the last season despite spending almost £600m on transfers over the past 12 months.
Chelsea have sold a number of first-team regulars this summer, with Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy leaving Stamford Bridge.
Mendy’s departure suggests that Pochettino has decided to stick with Arrizabalaga as his No. 1 next season but Merson believes Chelsea are ‘crying out’ for a new goalkeeper.
‘Chelsea are crying out for a new goalkeeper,’ Merson told . ‘You need a goalkeeper who is going to win you points. Having one can half move you up the league quickly.
‘David De Gea gets slaughtered at Manchester United for giving away points, but he gains a lot of points for them, he probably saves more points than he loses.
‘Chelsea’s midfield is crying out for reinforcements too. Everyone has gone. They have got Enzo Fernandez and Conor Gallagher at the club, there is talk of Moises Caicedo coming in, but that is all they’ve got, potentially three midfield players, that is it.
‘As we sit here today, if Mauricio Pochettino gets Chelsea into the top four having only signed Caicedo, you would say he pulled up trees.’
Merson also believes Chelsea need to sign new midfielders and a striker this summer and claims reuniting Pochettino with Tottenham captain Harry Kane would be a game-changer.
‘They need midfielders and they also need a centre-forward,’ the ex-Arsenal star said. ‘The only player out there who takes Chelsea to another level is Harry Kane, he’s the only one.
‘He takes Chelsea to challenging for the league title again. If Chelsea buy Kane, something would be wrong if they didn’t finish in the top four, that’s how big a difference Kane would make.
‘He scored 30 league goals last season for Tottenham, for Tottenham. And who’s playing with him at Spurs? He has to do it all himself virtually. If he stays at Spurs next season with James Maddison now there, I dread to think how many goals he will get.
‘I cannot for the life of me see Kane join Bayern Munich. Why would you get to within 47 goals of Alan Shearer’s Premier League scoring record and then go to Bayern to help them win the Bundesliga for the 97th time on the trot? Why would you go? What for?’
, . ,  and .
