Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has already responded to Paul Merson’s Enzo Fernandez warning

Mauricio Pochettino already knows he has to give Enzo Fernandez ‘more freedoms’ amid a warning from Paul Merson.

Fernandez arrived at Stamford Bridge as a World Cup hero and a rising star, but he has struggled to play his best football in a Chelsea side that has disappointed as a whole for more than a year. The Argentine cost the Blues more than £100million, and it’s clear that if Pochettino and his side are going to succeed, they are going to have to get the best out of him.

In fact, Fernandez himself has made it clear that he wants to play in a role that will allow him to be more creative.

He told ESPN in Argentina during the summer: “We talked a little bit about everything, where I felt most comfortable, everything.

“The truth is that yes, I like to play loose, and the function that I am going to fulfill this year is going to be that, playing double five but a little looser, trying not to have the responsibility I had last season, playing five alone. Now, with a five more next to me, obviously I will have much more freedom, but without detracting from the position, in the sense that I also have to defend, we have to help the team in that way.”

Early this season, Chelsea boss Pochettino agreed, adding: “He is a No8. One of the first things when we met him is to talk about his position and how he feels comfortable, and then to talk about his quality. He needs some freedoms. He has the quality to assist, to shoot from outside the box.”

Since then, Chelsea have put together a disappointing start to the season, and pundit Merson has warned that Fernandez may get fed up.

Merson told Sky Sports: “Enzo Fernandez is different class - a cut above the rest. But how long will he stand for this? There’s not enough guile in the team. You haven’t got players that will put the ball through the eye of a needle.

“Teams will go to Stamford Bridge, set up 10 players behind the ball and counter-attack. I said on Saturday that Chelsea would get beaten 1-0. I know how they struggle against teams that play 10 at the back. They can’t break teams down. It’s like watching Subbuteo football - there’s no movement. Unless Fernandez finds that killer pass, no one else will.”