Gianluca Vialli believes that Chelsea’s problems this season stem from not having a successful summer transfer window to build on last year’s success.
The Italian played for the club between 1996 and 1999 before having a spell as manager, and clearly he still pays attention to their fortunes.
While also backing Leicester City to win the Premier League this season, the 51-year-old has pinpointed Chelsea’s lack of movement in the summer transfer market for their plight this year.
“In the summer, the lack of signings at Chelsea was important,” he said at the launch night for Bradford City’s ‘Upgrade the parade’ crowd funding project, as reported by Sky Sports.
“Normally you create a spark and that did not happen, and I think some of the players were mentally tired.”
As for the Foxes, Vialli praised Ranieri as the “best manager in the world if you give him a club with little expectation and a limited budget”. He claimed his fellow Italian is great at turning that into something better and achieving great results, and believes it would be positive for football in general if they are able to go on and lift the Premier League trophy.
In contrast, the former Chelsea man revealed his disappointment over John Terry’s expected exit at the end of the season, as he expected the veteran defender to retire and take up a position at Stamford Bridge to continue his connection with a club that he has held so close to his heart for so many years.