William Gallas is worried that Mykhailo Mudryk and Marc Cucurella don’t have what it takes to play for a ‘big club’ like Chelsea.
While many of Chelsea’s new signings have struggled this campaign, Mudryk and Cucurella standout as two of the worst offenders thus far.
Mudryk only joined Chelsea in January so can be forgiven for needing more time to adjust in England, but given all the fuss around his transfer, supporters would have expected more.
The winger was long-touted to join Arsenal but after they failed to meet Shakhtar Donetsk’s valuation, the West London club suddenly swept in and secured the Ukraine star’s services for £88.5m.
He looked lively on his debut, coming off the bench at Liverpool, but since he has made little impact, failing to make a single contribution in his first five appearances.
This marks a contrast to his form before the move when he scored 10 and made eight assists in 18 matches for Shakhtar, but his poor start has led Graham Potter to bench him for the last three games, being an unused sub in the win over Leeds.
‘Mudryk doesn’t start, why is that!? Maybe the boy is not ready, or the system doesn’t fit him and he wants to play a different position – I don’t know,’ former Chelsea defender Gallas told Genting Casino.
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‘That’s why I said I felt some owners are just spending money because they have money to spend and they don’t even know if the players are going to suit the squad. At the moment, I don’t know what has happened to Mudryk.’
‘I have nothing against Cucurella, I don’t know him but I respect him,’ Gallas added.
‘This is on Chelsea though, not even the players. If you invest so much money into one player and they come to join one of the biggest clubs in the Premier League, normally they are playing for their national team.
‘He is not even in the Spanish national team! So maybe Chelsea is too big for him, maybe he doesn’t have that quality to be there.
‘That is why, for me, the problem lies with the club, not the players. You have to buy players that are ready to play for the biggest clubs and who have the quality to play for the biggest clubs.
‘They will have the capacity to deal with all the pressure, it’s simple really. They bought too many players, and for so many of those players I don’t know what they are doing there, they are not ready.’
