Chelsea defender Thiago Silva has been critical of the club’s approach this season following their Champions League exit.
It’s been a hectic year at Stamford Bridge. Last summer, American businessman Todd Boehly arrived at the helm, taking over from previous owner Roman Abramovich following 19 highly successful years.
The investor wasted little time in making his mark at the Blues. In his first transfer window, he oversaw eight first-team signings, totalling over £250 million in transfer fees.
This method continued in January, with another eight players arriving. This included the British record signing of Enzo Fernandez, who came in from Benfica for an estimated £107m.
Despite the influx of new arrivals, Chelsea have struggled to reach the heights of before. They currently sit in 11th place in the league, on course for their second-lowest finish in the Premier League era.
Additionally, they exited both domestic cups at the earliest possible stage and have just been knocked out of the Champions League.
After their defeat to Real Madrid, Thiago Silva hit out at Boehly’s strategy. The Brazilian feels that they need to reduce the size of the squad before they can make progress.
Speaking to BeIN SPORTS, Silva said: “I think the first step has been made. An incorrect mistake, but it has been made.
“We can’t be blaming managers if we don’t take responsibility. It’s a hard period for the club with a lot of indecision. Change of ownership, new players arriving.
“A positive point is that there are amazing players within the squad, but on the other hand there are always players that are going to be unhappy because not everyone can play. The manager can only pick 11 from 30-something.
“That’s tough. Some can’t make the squad. We signed eight in January. We need to stop and put a strategy in place otherwise next season we could make the same mistakes.”
Chelsea are currently searching for their next manager. Thomas Tuchel was sacked in September, and Graham Potter departed earlier this month.
Club legend Frank Lampard returned on an interim basis but has lost all four games in charge.
Former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann has reportedly been contacted over the vacancy. Luis Enrique has also been linked but is rumoured to be off the Blues’ list of targets.
