Paul Merson has criticised Chelsea’s “biggest load of rubbish” signings during the summer window after a bad start to the season.
Chelsea have been a different club since the Todd Boehley-led Clearlake takeover of the London giants. Since the American came on board, they have spent north of a billion pounds on new player over three transfer windows, but their position on the table has regressed.
Boehly has come in for criticism about many decisions made during the summer window. Chelsea have brought some big-name stars and some unknown quantity; their window will be remembered for the midfield rebuild involving the signings of Romeo Lavia and £115 million man Moises Caicedo.
Former Arsenal man Paul Merson, in his Sky Sports column, has already compared Caicedo to Arsenal star Declan Rice. He has now given his two cents on Chelsea’s overall transfer business, describing it as the “Biggest load of rubbish” after signing a ‘million players’.
Merson said, “Chelsea have brought in a million players, and you think: ‘How do you get a team out of this lot?’ “Chelsea is about winning trophies. It’s not Tottenham, trying to get in the top four, but that’s where it’s got to – so quickly, as well. If you were reading this book on holiday, you’d throw the book in the sea. You’d think: ‘That’s the biggest load of rubbish. That can’t happen.’”
Paul Merson questions Chelsea's numbers of incomings during the transfer window… 👀🔵 pic.twitter.com/MADQvs3tsR
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 5, 2023
“Chelsea had all these great youngsters they brought through, a team that had just won the Champions League, and now you look at it and think: ‘How has this happened?’ It’s like Men in Black – someone’s flipped the pen and you think: ‘What happened?’ Mauricio Pochettino will get it right because he’s a good manager, but it’s going to be hard. If they get in the top four then they will be pulling up trees.”
Merson’s criticism of Chelsea may seem warranted at this time of the season following a disastrous start. The Arsenal icon, also claimed he predicted Chelsea would lose against Nottingham Forest with the actual scoreline.
Merson continued, “There’s not enough guile in the team. You haven’t got players that will put the ball through the eye of a needle. Teams will go to Stamford Bridge, set up 10 players behind the ball and counter-attack. I said on Saturday that Chelsea would get beaten 1-0. I know how they struggle against teams that play 10 at the back.”
Pochettino will have a pause before the international break as he will look to work out his ideas on the player who stays behind. The Blues will travel to Bournemouth after this period, as the manager will hope to start a revival tour of his underperforming side.
On paper, Chelsea have one of the most exciting squads in the continent, but they have yet to gell together to make things tick. There’s a firm belief things will improve in the coming period, but they are already playing catchup to their top-four hopes.
