Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea’s immediate priority is transfers but praised how the club have streamlined his squad by shifting “uncommitted” players, including Mason Mount.
The 51-year-old conducted his first press conference as Blues boss, meeting the media for the first time since starting work on Monday.
Chelsea had been managerless throughout June but wasted no time selling players to help balance the books and reduce a bloated squad to a more manageable number.
Pochettino was happy with the work done by Chelsea’s two sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stuart to sell 10 players, and now, with pre-season underway, he wants further signings.
“Of course, we have the quality, we are going to add more quality and I am excited to be here,” he said.
He added: “When I was outside and didn’t know about Chelsea, I was hearing different opinions about the squad being too big.
“Always it is always a fresh start with players, people come in, they go out some players. It was a really big squad last season and, normally, the club try to reduce the number of players. I trust in Paul and Laurence.
“I said ‘you know better than me’. But from day one, first of July, I will be more informed.”
Mount’s £60million exit to Manchester United has caused concern among some supporters but Pochettino, who joined as the midfielder left, is comfortable with his exit.
“He is a Manchester United player now. He left the club but I don’t know what happened in the past,” he added. “I don’t want to talk about that.
“I want to focus and show respect for our players who really commit to moving on, try to provide a journey and provide the team and the club to win trophies and lift them.”
Mount followed the likes of N’Golo Kante, Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovacic and, most recently, Cesar Azpilicueta, out the exit door.
Pochettino also needs to decide who will be his next captain, adding: “First of all we need to build the squad and then I need to look at all the players before making a decision.
“I need to feel the players, feel the commitment, the character, the personality.”
