We need a Ward-Prowse, says Poch
CHELSEA will look to sign a set-piece specialist in the summer, with Mauricio Pochettino yesterday citing the impact of James Ward-Prowse at West Ham. Blues boss Pochettino feels his team are lacking a ‘taker’ for such scenarios, saying Ben Chilwell is the closest they have. Chelsea will bid to bounce back from Wednesday’s 4-1 loss at Liverpool when Wolves visit Stamford Bridge tomorrow. ‘We work a lot on set-pieces,’ said Pochettino, whose side are 10th in the Premier League. ‘After that it is about the quality of the player. We don’t have a specialist. If you want to be good in set-pieces, we work a lot. But then you need good takers.’ Chelsea are one of a shrinking number of Premier League clubs who do not have a dedicated set-piece coach among their staff, but Pochettino insisted that is not the problem. ‘It is not down to the work,’ he said. ‘We work similarly (to other clubs). The problem is to have good takers. We are talking about trying to find a specialist for next season. ‘Look at West Ham. The taker is Ward-Prowse (whom Pochettino worked with at Southampton). You add a player like him, you increase the percentage (of goals from set-pieces). ‘That is football. Football belongs to the players. Not to the specialist coaches.’ Only five of Chelsea’s 36 league goals this season have come from set-pieces, with Pochettino working to improve their threat. The Blues let Armando Broja leave on loan for Fulham without signing a striker in January but Pochettino insists he has enough options up front. Nicolas Jackson could feature against Wolves after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations.