Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola cannot believe that his old club have let so many of their experienced players leave over the last two transfer windows.
The Blues have had a clear-out at Stamford Bridge and Zola has told The Times that he is surprised by the departures of Cesar Azpilicueta and three others players in particular.
The former Chelsea captain left Mauricio Pochettino’s side in the summer to join Atletico Madrid.
A lack of experience in the Argentine’s squad may be one reason why the Blues are struggling so much right now.
They currently find themselves sitting 15th in the Premier League table.
Chelsea clear-out a surprise
Zola is surprised Chelsea have let the likes of Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic all leave the club this year.
In his interview with The Times, he said: “I am surprised so many experienced players left. My understanding is they are planning to build a team within the next three or four years but players left that were there a long time and that won a lot — Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Havertz, Kovacic — players that probably everyone looked up to.”
Chelsea have not got the balance right
In the end, it does feel like Chelsea got rid of too many of their experienced players.
They had an ageing squad and are obviously trying to build a team that can compete in the future, but there needs to be a balance.
It is not something the Blues currently have, with Thiago Silva probably the only real experienced leader left at Stamford Bridge.
With time, others will obviously gain more experience and hopefully grow into leaders. But what do Chelsea and Pochettino do until then? Who do the youngsters turn to during a tough period like now? There are not a lot of options for them at the minute.
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