West Ham star Vladimir Coufal can’t believe what Mauricio Pochettino is doing at London rivals Chelsea.
This time last year West Ham and Chelsea were on their way to being two of the top three spenders on transfers in world football.
Since then Chelsea have left West Ham – and pretty much everyone else – for dust with their relentless rebuild, now headed up by one-time reported Hammers managerial target Mauricio Pochettino.
The Blues have of course been offloading players too – and not for peanuts. And many of those sales have been academy developed players who – like West Ham with the sale of Declan Rice – represent 100 per cent profit.
The man overseeing it all at Stamford Bridge is Todd Boehly – an American in London at one of the country’s leading football clubs. And with that has come much ridicule from rival fans and pundits alike. Much of it has been unfair – some unavoidable and self-inflicted.
Boehly, once linked with a takeover at West Ham before his consortium bought Chelsea, has ushered in what is perceived as a chaotic period of recruitment which continued unabated this week with the £175m arrival of central midfielders Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia – both registered in time to face West Ham.
West Ham’s own manager David Moyes – in typically old school fashion – has been critical of what he is seeing at Chelsea, saying they are proof that signing players en masse “doesn’t work” following their dismal 12th place finish last season.
The Hammers might be hoping to take advantage of any unfamiliarity in the Chelsea ranks in the clash at the London Stadium on Sunday evening.
But one player believes he has seen signs that should worry everyone.
Because West Ham star Vladimir Coufal can’t believe what Pochettino is doing at London rivals Chelsea.
Coufal watched West Ham’s next opponents when they played out a 1-1 draw with Liverpool last weekend.
Forget about the criticism over transfer spending and FFP, because Coufal was taken aback by what matters most – the performance on the pitch.
And the Hammers ace admits he was surprised by just how good Chelsea look already under Pochettino.
“I watched Chelsea against Liverpool and I was really impressed,” Coufal told West Ham’s website.
“Pochettino has done really well with them so far already.
“They were playing quick, one-touch football.
“And it is going to be a good test for us on Sunday.”