Joe Cole says ‘top manager’ Mauricio Pochettino is doing a ‘great job’ given the lack of experience at his disposal and believes Chelsea should consider moves for Real Madrid veterans Luka Modric and Toni Kroos.
Despite spending in excess of £1billion on new signings since Todd Boehly’s 2022 takeover, Chelsea find themselves languishing down in 11th place in the Premier League table and the FA Cup remains the club’s only remaining shot at silverware this term.
Pochettino’s position has been called into question on a number of occasions across a difficult debut season in the hot seat and Chelsea supporters even began chanting for the Argentine’s dismissal during the side’s draw with Brentford earlier this month.
But Pochettino has remained relaxed throughout, repeatedly calling for patience from fans considering the youthful nature of the squad, with the likes of Cole Palmer, 21, and Conor Gallagher, 24, setting the example at Stamford Bridge this season.
Speaking to talkSPORT, ex-Chelsea winger Cole stressed that it was a ‘transitional time’ for his former club and praised Pochettino for the work he had done in his opening few months as manager.
‘It’s a transitional time for the club, we know that,’ Cole said.
‘There are young players and watching them develop, when I watch them play, I want to get on there with them. I want to help them.
‘There is so much talent there, so much potential and I think Pochettino has done a great job because he’s constantly drilling that narrative: “You can’t look at this team like you would look at Chelsea teams of the past”.
‘This is a team that is developing and the targets are different.
The former England international added: ‘Poch is a top manager.
‘[Graham] Potter was a top manager, Frank [Lampard] was a top manager, [Thomas] Tuchel was a top manager… I think you need time and they need to work with what they’ve got.’
Given the chance, Cole said he would advise Chelsea’s board to add ‘good quality, experienced players’ to Pochettino’s ranks to ease the pressure on the younger members of the squad.
Asked whether Chelsea may be missing some experienced heads, Cole replied: ‘I think it would help.
‘If I was advising the board, I’d say that we’ve bought these youngsters, spent a lot of money on them, they’re all getting better. Great, we’re improving.
‘But why don’t we sprinkle some good quality, experienced players into the group over the next few years?
‘They don’t have to play every game but they can help, they can come in and out and set standards within the group.
‘I think that would help the club as a whole. But we’ll see where this journey goes with them.’
According to Cole, Chelsea should be looking at wise old heads like Modric and Kroos to come in and pass on their pearls of wisdom to Pochettino’s more inexperienced players.
He added: ‘I’d be looking to maybe bring in some experienced players to set the tone.
‘Does Luka Modric want to come and play in the Premier League for one more year? He’s still doing bits at Real Madrid. How much has he helped [Eduardo] Camavinga, [Aurelien] Tchouameni, [Federico] Valverde? He would have had such an influence on them as players.
‘Toni Kroos is 34 but does he want to test himself at his age, coming over here and helping out this young squad?’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
MORE : Chelsea battling Tottenham and West Ham for Ivan Toney transfer as Mikel Arteta cools Arsenal’s interest
MORE : Ajax star Diant Ramaj responds to Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea interest: ‘Let’s see’
MORE : Arsenal lead Premier League race for Sporting star Viktor Gyokeres after Chelsea fail with January bid
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
