Zola lists Chelsea's four transfer mistakes after €462m summer spend

Cameron Smith

1 Oct 2023 15:25 BST
3 min read

Gianfranco Zola has highlighted four transfers that Mauricio Pochettino should not have sanctioned at Chelsea this summer.

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The Blues are currently 15th in the Premier League table after a poor start to the campaign that has seen them only pick up one league win so far.

They have defeated AFC Wimbledon and Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup, but their form in the English top flight has not been pretty.

It comes after a huge summer of investment from Todd Boehly, with Chelsea spending €462.1 million on new players during the transfer window.

Moises Caicedo was the most expensive at €116m, but there were six players who joined for more than €35m in total (Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku, Cole Palmer, Axel Disasi and Nicolas Jackson).

Lavia and Nkunku are yet to make their competitive Blues debut due to injury, while Palmer hasn’t started a league game since his move from Manchester City.

However, Zola believes that Pochettino should not have allowed four key players to depart Stamford Bridge this past summer.

© ProShots - Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea

What has Zola said?

In an interview with The Times, the former Italy international said: “"I am surprised so many experienced players left.

“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.”

Thiago Silva is the only player older than 28 who has played a minute for Chelsea this season, while the Brazilian is one of just three players from the Blues’ 2021 Champions League winning team still at the club (alongside Ben Chilwell and Reece James).