'They don't know what to do' - Chelsea legend takes aim at four players

26 September 2023 , 13:05

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Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has much to think about in terms of his side's attacking struggles

Chelsea icon Frank Leboeuf has laid into the likes of Raheem Sterling and Mykhaylo Mudryk among a number of other Blues players after a dismal start to the Premier League season.

Mauricio Pochettino's men have won just one game so far this term, which came in the form a 3-0 home victory against newly promoted outfit Luton Town. As a result, the Blues languish all the way down in 14th with just five points to their name.

Despite the fact that under the reign of owner Todd Boehly the west Londoners forked out more than £400million on new talent in the summer, Chelsea have drastically underwhelmed - particularly in their attacking department. Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku were both brought in to take care of the goalscoring, but it hasn't played out as planned.

Nkunku sustained a serious injury that has ruled the Frenchman out until December, while Jackson has been guilty of some profligate finishing which has meant the former Villarreal man has netted one goal in just six games. Leboeuf has questioned why his former side didn't opt for more proven attackers in the window and taken aim at the four currently at their disposal.

"That surprises me a lot, and I’ve seen so many possibilities for them to score goals and they didn’t," he told ESPN. "Nicolas Jackson has a future, but last year he was struggling until the other striker from Villarreal got injured so he came on.

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"After that, Enzo Fernandez is not a top scorer. [...] Raheem Sterling has never been a top scorer. He has been so clumsy in front of the goal, but he does have other qualities.

"Mykhaylo Mudryk we don’t know what he’s worth because he just came from nowhere for £100m. And the others, I don’t know. Christopher Nkunku is injured so we’ll have to wait until he comes back."

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Nicolas Jackson is one of four Chelsea players criticised by Frank Leboeuf

Chelsea's attacking woes aren't anything new, last term saw the Blues bag just 38 Premier League goals last season - the second lowest in their history. Leboeuf did make clear who he'd rather his old side have signed if the wanted to bolster their forward line.

"If they have so much money, they should have bought Harry Kane or so many others, I see some players in France playing for Brest or Lorient, scoring goals like crazy, being a true striker, I’ve talked about [Aleksandar] Mitrovic before.

'Pick somebody with a little bit of experience who knows how to score a goal in the six-yard box. Because we see that with Chelsea. It’s not even the last third, it’s when they are in the box and then they don’t know what to do with the ball. They’re not clever. They don’t pick the right choice. That’s absolutely crazy."

Josh O'Brien