"I need him in my squad." — Mauricio Pochettino has convinced Todd Boehly to sign £85M rated La Liga star midfielder.

 

As per Spanish outlet SPORT (via  Football.London), Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has convinced the club to try and sign Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde this summer window.

The report reveals that an offer of around £85m would be made to sign the Uruguay international who has been an integral part of Madrid’s success in the recent past.

It is also believed that Los Blancos see Valverde as untouchable and won’t entertain any offers for him. It remains to be seen if Pochettino can conjure some magic and attract the player’s interest towards working with him.

Valverde is a versatile player who although can play the box-to-box midfield role very well, can do well as a winger too. In last year’s Champions League Final, the 24-year-old started on the right wing and assisted the match-winning goal for Vinicius Jr.

The Uruguayan is a manager’s dream not just because of his flexibility, but his ability to carry out tactical instructions on the field is second to none.

In terms of attributes, Valverde is a strong runner, has a good shot in him, can play short and long passes, is good at recovery runs and can almost operate like two players in one.

Currently, Real Madrid won’t entertain any bids for Valverde as they view him as untouchable. 

If Pochettino and Chelsea somehow pull off his signature, he would be an ideal fit in that attacking number eight role under the Argentine at Stamford Bridge.

It looks like a tough deal to crack though, mainly because of how much Madrid value the player. Moreover, it is not as if he is not playing much there either.

Luis Suarez recommendation:

Recall, Luis Suarez had spoken highly of Valverde in the past, listing his attributes that would make him invaluable at Chelsea:

The 36-year-old said: “Honestly – and there are the newspaper archives from 2017 when Fede debuted in the national team – I already said that he reminded me of Steven Gerrard, who was my teammate at Liverpool.

“He has similar conditions. A box to box, with punch, change of pace, a lot of arrival. I don’t want to compare, but the characteristics are similar.

‘I saw Fede coming and he has made tremendous progress, surrounded by big stars. He did very well."