I really believe in the importance of experience and leadership, and that is why I think we should be a little bit flexible in our recruitment going forward.
But also, experience and leadership does not always mean a player in their early 30s. I think balance is very important, as always.
Just look at Thiago Silva for a prime example of how important experience is for this Chelsea team. We are building a young team and want to get the average age down, that is fantastic, and I’m all for that. But we need an experienced spine of the team, and not having Thiago Silva in our team on Saturday when we lost to Southampton, and how much we digressed from our Dortmund performance, once again just proves to me how important it is to have some experienced players down the spine of our team and our rebuild. Thiago might not always be the most vocal in terms of shouting, but he is always organising the whole team all through the game.
We are reportedly looking to sign two priority players in two positions come the summer at least, one in the midfield, and one up top. I think it’s imperative that both profiles that come in are not only experienced, but good experienced players who bring and offer leadership. We need to build our young team around one or two more experienced heads. But as I say, that doesn’t mean these players have to be 30-years-old.
Many fans want Declan Rice at Chelsea. He’s just 24-years-old yet already FULL of experience and leadership. His mentality is exactly what we need in the middle of the park. But not only that, his profile and attributes are EXACTLY what Enzo Fernandez needs alongside him.
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We desperately still need a defensive midfielder, and Rice brings everything we need in in his profile, most importantly a strong mentality, experience, and leadership in the dressing room and on the pitch. He brings classic leadership and not just leading by example.
But I also think that we should be targeting a profile in attack that is very similar. I’d even be happy to go a little older if we need to. We have Armando Broja who I have a lot of belief in, why not bring in an experienced striker for him to learn from and rotate with?
We are also reportedly looking at a new goalkeeper in the summer, so this is THE spine of the team and something we fully have to get right. The spine is SO important. If we sign three players with strong mentalities and experience in those three positions, that will go a very long way to complimenting the top young talents we have already signed.
I’m all for trusting the youth and bringing the average age of the squad right down, but I also feel we need good balance and leaders in the spine of our team. We can address that this summer and sign smart.