New Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has reportedly told two of his attacking stars to delay their return to pre-season training.
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Earlier this week, the west Londoners confirmed that they would be loaning young star David Fofana out to Bundesliga outfit Union Berlin.
The Ivory Coast youth international is the latest in a long list of players to have left Stamford Bridge this off-season, and while he will be returning to the club for the 2024/25 campaign, perhaps the same may not be true for some of Pochettino's other attacking talents.
According to The Telegraph, the Argentine tactician has told marksmen Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Romelu Lukaku to put a halt on any plans to return to Cobham for pre-season training.
The ex-Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain boss has told the duo not to join the squad as he wants to construct a team with players he knows he will use, and both the Gabonese and the Belgian are believed to be disillusioned with their time in the English capital.
In the case of the Belgium's all-time top goalscorer, he reportedly wants to stay permanently at Inter Milan. The Antwerp native returned to the San Siro on loan for this past campaign. It is said that both Inter and the Blues are nearing an agreement over a transfer for the player. I Nerazzurri are said to have had an initial bid rejected by the Premier League side and are waiting on the sale of goalkeeper Andre Onana before launching an improved offer for Lukaku.
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What is in store for Gabon's former captain is less clear, but the same report does suggest that there is mounting interest from Saudi Arabia for the 33-year-old's services. Pochettino is preparing to take the two-time European champions on a pre-season tour of the United States and is hoping to avoid creating a separate contingent of players who train on their own.
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