27 May 2023 , 00:00
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Former England midfielder Paul Scholes believes Chelsea need to make significant changes at both ends of the pitch under incoming manager Mauricio Pochettino.
The Blues were the Premier League's biggest spenders this season, splashing out half a billion pounds on new arrivals. However, despite landing top targets including Mykhaylo Mudryk and Premier League record signing Enzo Fernandez, they will finish the season in the bottom half of the table.
Pochettino is due to take charge in July, with a summer transfer window to prepare his squad for the upcoming campaign. A couple of new faces are already on their way, with January arrival Malo Gusto returning from loan and Christopher Nkunku arriving from RB Leipzig, but Scholes believes 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."
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Chelsea have scored just 37 goals in 37 Premier League games, nine shy of the 46 they scored in 1995-96 - their previous lowest total in the competition. Only three teams have scored fewer, and two of the teams in the bottom three have scored more than the Blues.
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Scholes remains unconvinced by Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and understudy Edouard Mendy (AP)Chelsea are likely to need to sell players as well as investing in new signings. A bloated squad meant some first-team stars had to be left out of the Champions League squad for the knockout stages, while some big-money arrivals have struggled for minutes.
One man who could be on the move is Mason Mount. The England international is out of contract in 2024, and the Blues may opt to cash in despite Lampard recognising the club continues to think highly of the academy graduate.
"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 manager 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."