Chelsea raid rivals for Pochettino-backed deal to build new department

Chelsea have agreed to bring in Bernardo Cueva, a highly rated coach from Brentford, to help them get better at set-piece plays.

Cueva, who is 36 years old and from Mexico, will finish the current season with Brentford before moving to Chelsea in the summer.

Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, who are in charge of sports stuff at Chelsea, have decided to bring Cueva on board, and Mauricio Pochettino, the head coach, thinks it’s a good idea.

Since Anthony Barry left Chelsea last April to work with Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich, Toni Jimenez, the goalkeeper coach, has been handling set-pieces. But now, Cueva will take over that role.

Before joining Brentford in 2020, Cueva worked as an analyst for Chivas in Mexico, where he helped them win a big competition similar to the Champions League in North America.

People think Cueva is really good at what he does. You can often spot him on the sidelines when Brentford gets corners or free-kicks.

Most other teams in the Premier League only have one or two specialists for set-pieces. But Chelsea wants to change that by building a whole department for it, and Cueva will help with that.

This move for Cueva is just one of many changes Chelsea has made to their staff recently.

Josh Marsh from Swansea is now in charge of loans, and Sam Jewell from Brighton will be joining after taking some time off.