Rio Ferdinand has aired his concerns for Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel after the German’s rant following a 4-0 drubbing by London rivals Arsenal in pre-season – with the former England star stating he is ‘worried’ for the club.
The Blues have had a tumultuous few months, starting with the UK Government’s sanction of Roman Abramovich as the club’s owner due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
They took a long time to appoint a new owner in Todd Boehly, by which time defenders Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen had left the club on free transfers, with Romelu Lukaku also departing on a loan deal to Inter Milan after failing to impress in his second spell at Stamford Bridge.
They have brought in Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Carney Chukwuemeka and look set to complete a deal for Marc Cucurella in the coming days. However, their defence still looks weak compared to last season and Ferdinand has spoken of his concerns on the matter.
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“I don’t care about results in pre-season, it was more the aftermath,” Ferdinand said to BT Sport (as relayed by the Daily Mirror).
“The way the manager spoke in the press conference afterwards was the startling thing for me, it opened my eyes. There must be some things happening behind the scenes that we’re not aware of as yet, he seems disgruntled and unhappy. There are maybe some players angling for a move behind-the-scenes that we’re not aware of.
“He’s brought Sterling in who will be a great addition, but if they lose the players that they’re talking about losing. Rudiger’s a massive loss, but Koulibaly’s come in – I think he’ll be a good signing this year. He’s experienced. But I think they need more again and I think he’s very aware of that and it’s not happening quick enough for them. If they don’t have any more movement in the window, I’d be worried about them.”
With injuries to the side being the main reason that their title charge failed last season, Tuchel will be key to addressing squad depth ahead of another long, gruelling season which saw them finish trophyless.