02 October 2023 , 01:00
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Gianfranco Zola has questioned Chelsea's decision to offload four senior players who "everyone looked up to".
Chelsea's spending under Todd Boehly's ownership passed the £1bn mark over the summer, with the likes of Moises Caicedo and Christopher Nkunku making high-profile moves to West London. Results have been tough to come by, though, with new manager Mauricio Pochettino tasting victory just once in his first six games.
The age profile of the squad has changed over the summer, with Cesar Azpilicueta one of the experienced heads to make way. Zola has suggested this could be at the root of the struggles, making his feelings crystal clear ahead of Monday's meeting with Fulham.
"I am surprised so many experienced players left," Zola told The Times. "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 – [Cesar] Azpilicueta, Jorginho, [Kai] Havertz, [Mateo] Kovacic — players that probably everyone looked up to.
"You need those players. In difficult moments you rely on those players. So many left and that doesn’t help the situation.”
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Zola also compared Chelsea's struggles to those he encountered while in charge at Watford when his squad grew to 35 players, but backed Pochettino to deliver. “I assume Pochettino knew what he was dealing with at Chelsea and he knows what he wants to do to make it work," the Italian said.
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Long-serving defender Cesar Azpilicueta left over the summer (Getty Images)Chelsea were beaten on their last trip to Fulham, with loanee Joao Felix sent off in a 2-1 defeat. They have won just twice on the road since that mid-January reverse, but Pochettino was bullish ahead of Monday's tie.
"My balance is much better than 10 years ago," the former Paris Saint-Germain boss said amid questions on how he is able to deal with on-field setbacks. ‘"I am more mature now and I try to keep calm. I hope my wife is happy with my behaviour now!
"The coaching staff are also more mature. We are not affected too much emotionally, unlike in the past. Even when we win we keep calm, and when the team is not so good, we keep calm also, to try to identify the best solution for the future."
Chelsea have been dealt another injury blow ahead of the game, though, with Ben Chilwell joining the likes of Nkunku and Wesley Fofana on the treatment table. "From what the doctor told me it’s not a good thing," Pochettino said of the left-back. "It looks like a bad injury, but we need to assess in the next few days and we’ll see the period that he’s going to be absent from the squad and the team. But it doesn’t look good."