Newly appointed Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has backed expensive signings Enzo Fernández, Mykhaylo Mudryk, and Raheem Sterling. The Argentine believes the expensive trio will take time to settle despite their expensive price tags. However, he has warned that there will be no excuses for the struggling Chelsea stars next season.

“Now is a new start,” Pochettino said. “They need to show their real quality. But we need to create a platform for them to feel comfortable and to create the space for them to perform and improve. These players were arriving in difficult circumstances, which was a great challenge for us because we love working in this way. We need to allow them to show they can cope with the pressure to play for Chelsea.”

“It's not only the responsibility of [the coach] always to feel [the mood] with everyone. The player has the responsibility to try to adapt and have his motivation and try to work hard and let us manage to try to achieve the very best.”

Pochettino wants to bring smiles back to the faces of Chelsea fans after their dismal campaign last season. The Blues finished 12th in the Premier League and got knocked out by Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals. Moreover, they had one of the most unstable seasons in their recent history by having three different managers in the same campaign.

Chelsea broke the British transfer record by signing Fernandez for £106.8m from Benfica. The Argentine was one of the players of the World Cup but hasn't shown the same consistency in the Premier League. Mudryk will return to first-team training after representing Ukraine at the European Under-21 Championship.