Former Chelsea forward, Joe Cole, has urged the club to acquire departing Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva to infuse experience into Xabi Alonso’s locker room.
Alonso is poised to officially assume his role as Chelsea’s manager in July, having been appointed on a four-year contract.
The former Real Madrid manager arrives at Stamford Bridge with numerous challenges to address following the Blues’ disappointing conclusion to the Premier League season, where they finished in tenth place and failed to secure a spot in any European competition.
Cole has consistently advocated for his former club to move away from their aggressive youth-centric recruitment strategy in order to provide the core of the team with essential experience.
The former Blues winger specifically mentioned Silva as one of several seasoned free agents the club should consider bringing to Stamford Bridge this summer.
He stated to Metro, “You look at someone like Ibou Konate; it appears he is heading to Real Madrid, but that would have been an ideal fit.
“Robert Lewandowski is another player still available. Bernardo Silva is still on the market and is the one I prefer. You can see the impact Jordan Henderson had on Brentford, and I don’t see why Bernardo couldn’t have a similar effect.
“It’s also a perfect opportunity for the owners. They should pursue a couple of free transfers; I would advocate for two or three signings, offering them one or two-year contracts, allowing these three senior players to help propel the group forward.”
However, regardless of whom they aim to recruit, Cole is eager to see Alonso take a more active role in the club’s operations to enable the Spaniard to start strong next season.
He added, “I believe it’s an excellent appointment. I didn’t expect Xabi to accept it because I thought he would have a more favorable opportunity.
“So that tells me that he’s clearly had a discussion with the club, and negotiations, and he has to be in control. I like the fact they’ve changed his name to manager, but I want to see that in real time: what does that actually mean? Because it needs a manager of the club; it needs a strong manager.
“Look back at what Jurgen Klopp did at Liverpool, look at what Michel Arteta’s done with Arsenal, look at what Pep Guardiola did at Manchester City.
“Yes, there were support teams around them, but they were in charge, and if Chelsea and the owners can do that, then they’ve got a chance of success.”
One of Alonso’s first orders of business could be making a bold call on the futures of Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella, who have both left for the World Cup with doubts lingering over their long-term futures at the club.