Noni Madueke is the first Chelsea player to speak up and react to Mauricio Pochettino’s exit from Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening.
Chelsea confirmed on their official website tonight that Mauricio Pochettino has left the club in his position as head coach.
It’s been announced that the Blues and Pochettino have mutually agreed to part ways.
The 52-year-old manager had just completed a turbulent first campaign at Stamford Bridge, where a purple patch of form towards the end helped secure sixth in the Premier League and a route back into European football for next season.
However, the Argentine boss has walked away from the Chelsea project and the attention of fans will now be on the replacement.
Noni Madueke the first Chelsea player to react
It’s still relatively fresh news tonight that Pochettino has departed Chelsea just two days after the final day of the season.
However, Blues winger Noni Madueke was the first player in the senior squad to react to the breaking news.
He posted a picture on his Instagram story on Tuesday evening of him next to Pochettino on the training pitch. The caption simply read: “Thank you.” It included a blue love heart emoji, too.
Madueke finished the season with eight goals in 34 Chelsea games while Pochettino was in charge. It’s a shame that the partnership won’t be able to develop into next year.
How will the rest of the Blues squad react to Mauricio Pochettino’s exit?
From the outside looking in, it seemed like Pochettino was gelling with the young Chelsea group.
The Daily Mail claimed back in April that even after Chelsea’s hammering 5-0 defeat to Arsenal the players at Stamford Bridge kept their faith and belief in Pochettino. That was then justified by a brilliant finish to the season.
The likes of Madueke, Moises Caicedo and Marc Cucurella were really coming into their own under Pochettino in recent weeks. Let’s hope his successor can build similar bonds with the players in the dressing room.
