‘They were the soul of the team’ – Gianfranco Zola says Chelsea made mistake selling three players

Gianfranco Zola has suggested Chelsea made a mistake selling three players and removing the ‘soul of the team’. Despite a strong finish to the 2023-24 campaign, Chelsea still only finished sixth in the Premier League , almost 30 points behind champions Manchester City.

Chelsea’s end-of-season form appeared to buy Mauricio Pochettino more time at Stamford Bridge but the Argentine agreed to leave the club at the end of the campaign. The Blues appointed Enzo Maresca as Pochettino’s replacement and will hope the ex-Leicester City boss can fire the club back to silverware. Zola believes Chelsea struggled at the start of last season because they were still adjusting to the departures of Jorginho and Kai Havertz, who both moved to Arsenal, and Mateo Kovacic, who signed for Manchester City.

‘Chelsea have had a hard season especially at the beginning, but they changed a lot,’ the Stamford Bridge hero told Ladbrokes. ‘They put a lot of young players in place, and lost a lot of experienced ones like Jorginho, Havertz, and Kovacic. They lost many players who were the soul of the team, the leaders, so it took time to get going.

‘But finally Pochettino got it working and it was working quite well. It was very surprising to see him leaving and I don’t know the full reasons but obviously from a supporter point of view I am disappointed.’

Maresca is one of the most highly-rated coaches in England, having guided Leicester to the Championship title last season and worked under Pep Guardiola earlier in his career. But Zola insists he has a ‘big job’ on his hands and will need to get the Chelsea fans and squad behind him from the outset.

‘Enzo Maresca has a big job to do,’ the Italian added. ‘He will need to get the players behind him to do what he wants to do. He will need to get the supporters behind him.

‘It will be a big task. I saw Leicester play and I was impressed by the way he got them playing so I know he has abilities and on top of that he is Italian so that is a plus! ‘But I was surprised by his appointment. Firstly, I didn’t think Pochettino would leave but also because he was a name we didn’t know was there.

‘Don’t get me wrong, I recognise his abilities, but we were expecting somebody more experienced or high profile. I think we wait and see how he handles a team like Chelsea where big expectations come with it.’

Given Chelsea’s transition and the fierce competition in the Premier League, Zola believes a top-four finish would represent success for Maresca next season. ‘In terms of ability, I think the team have that, but I believe a young team needs to have experienced players among them to guide them through the journey,’ he said.

‘I totally believe that a good mix of quality players is important so that they can really show the way to the young ones. If Chelsea can get a few experienced players in, that would be fundamental. ‘Success for Chelsea next season would be to get a Champions League spot. We came close this year so if we can manage to do that, I think we can say it has been a very good season.

‘Considering that the competition now has become incredibly strong with Man City, Liverpool, and now Arsenal coming very strong, it is tough. A Champions League spot for us will be a fantastic achievement. ‘The standard is now very high so Chelsea will have a lot of ground to cover to be on their level and challenge for the title. There is a lot of work to do.’