Joe Cole has criticised the overall approach from Chelsea with their spending, suggesting the effects of potentially being out of the Champions League.
Chelsea will only play UEFA Champions League football next season if they win the tournament this season. They had the chance to make a mark and put doubters to bed with the monumental clash against Real Madrid but handed the tie to the hosts.
Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio scored for Real Madrid to take a commanding lead in the tie heading to Stamford Bridge for the return leg. Going by how Frank Lampard’s side performed in the game, there’s hardly any hope left for the Blues to stage a comeback and progress.
Additionally, their league position seems untenable, and many suggest the best they can do is qualify for the lowly Europa Conference League. Playing in the third-tier European competition will come as a blow to the owners, who have invested so heavily.
The new bosses have had their names taken in the media, with many criticising them for how they have handled things. While they have to spend an enormous sum on transfers, close to 600 million, none of those players have come close to performing at the required levels.
They are already looking for a top-rated manager. But club icon Joe Cole has fears some of the best players won’t prefer to join Chelsea in the coming window. His comments appeared in Daily Mail, where Cole pointed out the potential risk of playing in the Europa Conference League while questioning the club’s overall approach.
Cole said, “We are not talking about ‘who do Chelsea get’, we’re talking ‘who wants to go to Chelsea’ if they are playing in the Europa Conference League? We have to be honest. The owners have come in and done what all good owners do and spend money. You have to praise them for that, they’re good people and they want to do what’s right for the club.”
“But they probably have to look at themselves and ask ‘who’s advising us on these players?’ Why have we got nine or 10 No 10s and wingers when we could have got a No 9? We don’t know the ins and outs but the problem lies with the recruitment over the last 12 months. Nobody in this squad has got 20 goals a season in their career so what makes you think they will do that now. That is the overall problem.”
Chelsea have players like Christopher Nkunku and Malo Gusto, who are already set to join after agreeing on deals earlier. Neither would have envisaged the plight of Chelsea and where they might be next season. However, Cole might be right when suggesting bigger players will think twice before entertaining offers from Chelsea.
There are potential problems if Chelsea do not play Champions League football next season. Considering they are already a loss-making club, it will severely affect their revenue. What happens next is anybody’s guess. However, one has to wonder what Cole said.
