Former England midfielder Paul Scholes believes Chelsea need to make major changes at both ends of the pitch under Mauricio Pochettino.
The West London side were the Premier League’s biggest spenders this campaign, spending up to half a billion pounds on new arrivals.
But, despite signing top targets including Mykhaylo Mudryk and Enzo Fernandez, they will finish the season in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
- Why Mason Mount wants a move to Man Utd over Arsenal & Liverpool
- Ten Hag sends transfer message to Hakim Ziyech after reunion with Chelsea winger
- Bruno Fernandes aims dig at Liverpool after Man Utd book Champions League spot
Pochettino is set to take charge in July, with a summer transfer window to prepare his squad for the upcoming season.
Some new faces are already on their way, with January arrival Malo Gusto returning from loan and Christopher Nkunku arriving from RB Leipzig, but Scholes claims there is more work to do.
“I think he’s [Pochettino] going to have to buy a couple of centre-halves, possibly a right-back, possibly a left-back, a whole new back four,” Scholes told Premier League productions. “I’m not sure about either goalkeeper.
“But I think going forward, I always look a team and I’m excited when they create chances, I think adding a centre-forward to that, they’re always going to create chances and if you’ve got a team who can score goals you’ve always got a chance.”
Chelsea have scored only 37 goals in 37 Premier League matches, nine shy of the 46 they scored in 1995-96 – their previous lowest total in the competition.
Only three clubs have scored fewer, and two of the teams in the bottom three have scored more than Chelsea.
Chelsea will need to sell players as well as investing in new signings. A bloated squad meant some first-team players had to be left out of the Champions League squad for the knockout stages, while a couple of big-money arrivals have struggled for minutes.
One player who could be on the move is Mason Mount. The England star is out of contract in 2024, and the Blues may choose to cash in despite Lampard recognising the club continues to think highly of the player.
“I think with Mason particularly as an individual, I don’t know what the solution’s going to be because as a club and Mason issue,” the caretaker boss told Sky Sports on Thursday. “I don’t know exactly where Mason is at personally – he’s got a year left on his contract.
“I know he’s held in high regard at the club, and I know as well the club are trying to do what they can to make him stay, but I think also with Mason, I’d never want to stand here and talk in the modern day about what a player should do. Because they’ll see it all through their own eyes – about what’s been going on, how they feel about the pitch, what the future is for them.”
