Mauricio Pochettino reveals whether Moises Caicedo & Romeo Lavia will face West Ham
- Chelsea confirmed the signings of both Caicedo & Lavia this week
- The two midfielders both rejected Liverpool in favour of joining Chelsea
- Caicedo & Lavia have been registered in Chelsea's squad ahead of Sunday's game against West Ham
By Tom Gott
Mauricio Pochettino has admitted both Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia could make their Chelsea debuts against West Ham United on Sunday.
Chelsea fought off competition from Liverpool to sign both players, with Caicedo completing a £115m move from Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday and Lavia sealing his own £58m switch from Southampton on Thursday.
The two midfielders have both been registered in Chelsea's squad in time to face West Ham but Pochettino admitted he will not hand debuts to the pair if they are not mentally and physically prepared.
"We have one day more to assess them, but it has been stressful weeks for Moises and Romeo also," he explained. "It would be easy to say they would be involved but the most important thing is to avoid risks and not to rush with them.
"If they are ready tomorrow, they will be involved but if not, we will wait a few days more to be involved in the squad."
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Asked to give his feelings on both signings, Pochettino began with particular praise for Lavia: "We all know him, his quality and his profile. I think he is the perfect player for this project. We are excited and we are so happy to have him in the squad.
"The club worked really, really hard. I would like to congratulate the owners, the sporting directors, everyone involved because the job was amazing. To add this sort of player like Moises, or Romeo now, I think it was a fantastic work from the club.
"We need to congratulate the job they are doing, the owners and the sporting directors because it was fantastic. This type of player, with the qualities they have, to come into this squad and to this project. It's really exciting moment and situation for the club."
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