With Liam Rosenior now in the job for a month, things on the managerial front at Chelsea, for now at least, are settled. But Salomon Kalou has identified a problem that will take a lot of effort to fix.
Chelsea are on the cusp of becoming a title contender. They are in that group of teams just below Arsenal and Man City, trying to work out what is needed to go one step further and rival the teams at the top.
Liverpool managed to do it last season, and Chelsea might be well-advised to take a look at Arne Slot’s first season, in comparison to his second, and understand that spending millions is not always the answer.
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Yisa Alao looks on during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Sheffield Wednesday and Brentford
Photo by Harriet Massey/Getty Images
But there is one clear thing missing at Chelsea at the moment, and former Blues attacker Salomon Kalou has been discussing it this week following Chelsea’s second-leg defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday evening.
Salomon Kalou identifies key Chelsea problem that needs fixing
On Tuesday, Chelsea’s oldest starting player was Robert Sanchez, and at 28, that is still largely young for a goalkeeper. The oldest outfield player was Marc Cucurella, who is very experienced, but still only 27.
Moises Caicedo is only 24, Enzo Fernandez is just 25, and Joao Pedro is 24. This is an incredibly young Chelsea side, forced to do what is required without an older head to rely on, like Thiago Silva.
Cole Palmer v Napoli.
Photo by Carl Recine – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Kalou believes Chelsea lack the experience that his Chelsea side did, speaking to SuperSport unplugged: “We have a young squad. Our best player is 22 or 23 I think Cole Palmer. He’s supposed to be the leader.
“In my time at Chelsea, I was the youngest with Obi Mikel I was 20, he was 18. You had players like Ballack the captain of Germany, Drogba the captain Ivory Coast, John Terry, Frank Lampard,” Kalou continued.
“They held the dressing room, they helped us grow and the team. So if you have that in the team it’s easier to build on that. Chelsea recruit a lot of young players who are handed a contract for seven years.
“But then how do you, once it’s not working, how do you sell them? Those are the problems Chelsea are facing at the moment because they need to keep the players for longer as well to build up a team.”
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When Liverpool won the league, they had some brilliant young players. They had internationals like Chelsea do between the ages of 23 and 28, but they also boast Virgil van Dijk in the middle of defence.
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They have former Chelsea man Mo Salah. That is what Chelsea lack and perhaps, two or three older heads in the dressing room is the difference between Chelsea being a top four side, and a title contender.
Ray Parlour suggested Chelsea should re-sign Antonio Rudiger and that would be a good start, with Rudiger out of contract in the summer. But interest in Jeremy Jacquet suggests youngsters will be eyed.
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