Mauricio Pochettino holds key transfer meeting with Carney Chukwuemeka over Chelsea future

Carney Chukwuemeka has been talking to the press about his future at Chelsea and has detailed a private conversation he recently had with new head coach Mauricio Pochettino.

Carney Chukwuemeka has insisted he wishes to stay at Chelsea for the upcoming season with Mauricio Pochettino recently telling the midfielder he wants to help his development at the club.

The 19-year-old joined the Blues last summer for around £20million from Aston Villa with then head coach Thomas Tuchel assuring the midfielder he would be involved in his first-team plans. However, Tuchel was sacked just over a month into the 2022/23 season, so it cast a bit of doubt over Chukwuemeka's role in the squad when Graham Potter was appointed as his successor.

Chukwuemeka was handed his Chelsea debut against Wolves just over a month prior to Tuchel's sacking, where the England youth international came on for the final four minutes in the 3-0 win against Wolves at Stamford Bridge. After being an unused substitute against Aston Villa next time out, he was then handed back-to-back appearances from the bench against Brentford and Manchester United.

A further 12 appearances – in all competitions – followed in the remainder of the season. Chelsea supporters only managed to see glimpses of Chukwuemeka's talent throughout the campaign with many calling for him to be used more in the upcoming season.

Back in May, e360hubs reported Chelsea would consider sending the former Aston Villa midfielder out on loan to get him some more first-team minutes elsewhere. That, however, was before Pochettino was appointed head coach and the Argentine has recently held a crucial meeting with the midfielder over his future at the club.

"He has come in and said that he sees the talent, that he wants to help develop me," Chukwuemeka said in an interview with Sky Sports. "Whether that's in a month or six months, but I want to stay and prove to everyone what I can do and help the club. At the end of the day, we will sit down, come together and decide what's best for me."

Chelsea and Pochettino's decision may have also been swayed by the mass exodus in the squad already this summer. Just over a month into the transfer window and the Blues have already offloaded Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, N'Golo Kante, Ethan Ampadu and Ruben Loftus-Cheek – who can all play in similar positions to Chukwuemeka.

The club are also open to offers for midfielder Conor Gallagher, football.london understands. The England international has keen interest from Tottenham, West Ham United and Newcastle United over a permanent move this summer.

Meanwhile, Chelsea and Brighton held positive talks over the sale of Moises Caicedo at the weekend, As per football.london. The Blues have since seen an offer, believed to be around £70million, once again turned down by the Seagulls but a confidence remains on Chelsea's side that a deal will eventually be struck.

Chelsea believe Brighton will accept a bid for around £80million for the Ecuador international. Caicedo has made it perfectly clear he wishes to leave the Amex Stadium and move to Stamford Bridge, with Brighton resigned to losing the talented midfielder at some point in the window.