Mauricio Pochettino Says He Tried to Sign USMNT Midfielder Tyler Adams for Chelsea

The current head coach of the United States Mens National Team, Mauricio Pochettino, has recently claimed he wanted to bring American star midfielder Tyler Adams to Chelsea while managing the London-based Premier League club.

Although his time at the club only lasted one season, the Argentine was responsible for overseeing much of Chelsea’s large transfer spend during the 2023-24 season. These signings include the likes of Christopher Nkunku ($64 million), Moises Caicedo (club-record fee of $140 million), Nicolas Jackson ($37 million), Cole Palmer ($53 million), and many more.

Chelsea finished 6th that season, behind rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Pochettino was subsequently sacked, and replaced with Enzo Maresca.

Now with the United States, Pochettino has admitted that he was keen on adding another name to that long list of transfers: American midfielder Tyler Adams. Pochettino said in his pre-match press conference for the Concacaf Nations League Semi-Finals vs. Jamaica:

“I know [Tyler Adams] very well because I think it is public that we wanted to sign him in Chelsea. I remember that in the USA, in Chicago, we had a conversation. We knew and after, the club didn’t sign him because he was injured.”

Adams suffered a hamstring injury at the end of the 2022-23 season with Bournemouth, which kept him off the pitch for the majority of the season. Had this issue not persisted, Adams would have potentially found himself at Chelsea and may have prevented Chelsea from signing Belgian midfielder Romeo Lavia.

“We know how important he is but we need to provide the good platform for him to get to his best.”

The United States Mens National Team will be playing Jamaica in the Nations League Semi-Final in a two-legged affair, on Nov 14th and 18th. The US currently has three Nations League titles, clinching their first one in 2021.