Chelsea have to change their approach if they want to build a successful team according to former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, who has not been impressed by the Blues
14:02, 25 Jan 2026
Jamie Carragher
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Jamie Carragher does not think Chelsea's plan is working(Image: )
Jamie Carragher has criticised Chelsea's transfer approach as they attempt to reinforce their backline for Liam Rosenior. The former Liverpool star believes the Blues must focus on finding an experienced head to kick on if they harbour any ambitions of winning the Premier League in the coming seasons.
The west London side are targeting young central defender Jeremy Jacquet to add to their ranks, and the Blues remain locked in negotiations with the Ligue 1 club, who are reluctant to sell the 20-year-old midway through the season. Carragher does not expect that signing to strike fear into Chelsea's rivals.
The average age of Chelsea's starting XI is 24 years and 210 days, which is younger than each of Chelsea's title-winning teams. The club's youngest was for their first win under Jose Mourinho at 25 years and 250 days.
And for Carragher, continually buying young talent will not return Chelsea to those heights. Not that he's too worried about that.
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Asked whether Chelsea's approach bothered him, Carragher said: "No, because I don't want Chelsea to win the league.
"I want Liverpool to win the league. If I were a Chelsea fan, it would bother me because the numbers tell you about how to go about winning the league.
"If you continually buy young players, they're not going to mature at the same time, they're not all going to get to where you want to get to, all be amazing signings. That's not going to happen.
"The reason they chop and change centre-backs so often is that they're all the same. The same sort of level, there's no real standout there.
Jeremy Jacquet continues to be linked with a move to Chelsea
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Jeremy Jacquet continues to be linked with a move to Chelsea(Image: (Franco Arland/Getty Images))
"That defender [Jacquet], as we both know, I'm sure he's got great potential, but he'll make mistakes because he's young. That's what young centre-backs do.
"That's definitely an area they have to improve, but it's not a 20, 21-year-old one, it's more 27, 28-year-old one. I think they could look to bring in and help these players along. If they continue like that, I don't see any reason anyone outside of Chelsea will be worried about Chelsea winning a title in the next year or two."
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Stade Rennais boss Habib Beye admitted anything is possible between now and the end of the window, despite wanting to retain Jacquet's services.
"There are still a few days left in the transfer window; anything can happen. We need things to be as calm as possible," he said.
“There’s an economic reality, and I won’t always have the final say. What I said was that when you’re a team like Stade Rennais and you have high ambitions, as a coach, I want to keep my best players and have the strongest team possible. Jeremy is one of those players.