Chelsea make huge coaching change despite Mauricio Pochettino speaking out against backroom plans
CHELSEA have reportedly agreed a deal to bring in a new set-piece coach from Brentford.
That is despite the fact that manager Mauricio Pochettino dismissed their importance recently.
The Athletic have stated that Bernardo Cueva will arrive at Stamford Bridge at the end of the season from Bees.
The Mexican, 36, joined Brentford from Chivas in September 2020 originally in the role of tactical statistician.
Cueva has since played an integral role in the club’s progress under Thomas Frank from Championship into the Premier League.
And Brentford have also become somewhat renowned for their effective set-pieces over recent years.
Todd Boehly and Chelsea chiefs have been looking to add more personnel to their coaching staff to help their young squad.
Cueva emerged as the “prime candidate” to fulfil the role after his impact at Brentford.
Anthony Barry previously held the position at Chelsea but he left 11 months ago to reunite with Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich.
Cueva will head a department that is set to be strengthened even further by sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley.
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Frank will lose his trusted lieutenant in the summer after a deal was struck between the two West London clubs.
And this report adds that Pochettino is fully-behind the move, even though he played down the significance of set-piece coaches last month.
The Argentine tactician insisted that his team did not need that kind of help by declaring that “football belongs to the players, not to the specialists”.
He said: “We work a lot on set-pieces. We have specialists. We are a coaching staff in charge of everything. We have a group of analysts for set-pieces.
“After that, it is about the quality of the player. It is about the takers. We don’t have a specialist.
“Maybe Chilly [Ben Chilwell] is good in the delivery, but we don’t have a specialist after that.
“When you have good takers, and of course, Wolves have good takers, and like Manchester City have or other clubs.
“It is not down to the work. We work similarly. But the problem is to have good takers.”