Pochettino desperate for titles, not new players at Chelsea

Carabao Cup - Semi-Final - Second Leg - Chelsea v Middlesbrough - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - January 23, 2024 Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino with Chelsea's Cole Palmer and Middle

Chelsea are more interested in winning trophies than in signing new players, manager Mauricio Pochettino said on Thursday.

Chelsea suffered a dismal start to the season but things have started to look up for Pochettino's side who have won their last three league games and reached the League Cup final by thrashing second-tier Middlesbrough in midweek.

The current transfer window closes next week, and despite the fact that Chelsea are currently ninth in the Premier League table, they are not desperately seeking new players.

"We are desperate to win a title, not to sign players, I'm happy with the squad," Pochettino told a press conference ahead of their FA Cup fourth-round tie with Aston Villa.

"But we know the last week has the most action and we need to be ready for anything that can happen in the squad."

Pochettino confirmed that forward Christopher Nkunku will not be available for Friday's game with Villa, as he recovers from a hip injury, but the manager refused to comment on whether they were looking to sign a striker.

"Too many rumours, player in, player out, at the moment, nothing to say," the manager said.

"We work really hard about different things in different areas. We will communicate if something happens.

Defender Malo Gusto is also unavailable for the game with Villa, but both he and Nkunku could return for Chelsea's next league game with Liverpool on Wednesday.

One signing who has made an immediate impact is Cole Palmer, who arrived from Manchester City in September and has scored nine league goals at Chelsea and netted two in their League Cup semi-final 6-1 win over Middlesbrough on Tuesday.

"We are optimistic always when we sign a player. It's true he's doing fantastic," Pochettino said.

"After six or seven months he's doing a very good job. We're so happy with his impact. He is helping the team to achieve things that we wanted."

Ben Chilwell started the game against Middlesbrough, and came on as a substitute in Chelsea's last league game having been out since September with a hamstring injury, but is not certain to start against Villa.

"We are assessing him to see if he can cope with another game in three days," Pochettino said.

"It's not a mental problem. It's not only convincing him to trust his body, it's to trust with us and the way we work, but he's always very optimistic.

"We need to be careful, the player always wants to play."

Chelsea will face Liverpool in the League Cup final and now hope to progress in the FA Cup, but they host a Villa side who came away from Stamford Bridge with a 1-0 league win back in September.