‘No chance’ – Mikel says ‘best’ current Chelsea player wouldn’t get into teams he played in
John Obi Mikel says there’s “no chance” Conor Gallagher would get into the starting XI of the Chelsea teams he played in “back in the day”.
Mikel made 372 appearances for the Blues in a decade-long stay at Stamford Bridge, winning ten major trophies including two Premier League titles and the Champions League.
He’s not been impressed by Chelsea under their new owners, who have spent over £1bn on new players and have very little to show for it.
And the former Blues midfielder claims Gallagher – who many would argue has been Chelsea’s best player this season, and is the highest-rated on WhoScored – is “decent” but would stand “no chance” of getting into the teams he played in at the club.
He said on his Obi One podcast: “He’s a decent player. Is he a Chelsea midfield player? Starting 11? Back in the day when we were playing would Gallagher get into the starting 11? No chance, I don’t think so.”
Mikel also believes Marc Cucurella, who has improved this season from what was an incredibly low bar set in his debut campaign, is “not at Chelsea standard”.
He added: “When you look at the left-backs we have had, Ashley Cole, Cesar Azpilicueta, William Gallas, you are talking about these players who have stayed at the club for many years, played so many games, and the standard they have set for that position… for me, he’s not at Chelsea standard.”
There’s plenty of blame to go round at the club, with Pochettino being roundly criticised by the fans on social media, but Chelsea legend Frank Leboeuf thinks it all comes down to the owners buying too many young players.
Leboeuf said: “Chelsea? There’s nothing there. Again, it’s a mid-table team. Too many defeats already. It’s an average team, and that’s what it is. I’m only being realistic.
“It’s impossible to resolve right now and it’s going to take years before Chelsea are back to maybe what we saw before. But as long as they sign only young players, they will have to face that.
“We all knew at the end of last season that we would see the same thing again. It’s impossible to resolve. You sign too many young players who are talented but inexperienced, and you get rid of the experienced players.
“The pressure from the fans and the media — because of course Chelsea shouldn’t be 12th — is going to be huge and it’s going to destroy everybody. People are going to become upset with the billion they have spent.
“You’re not going to resolve this issue [right now] because you got rid of what is important overall in life: the experience. It doesn’t work.”
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