JOE COLE has called on former club Chelsea to sell 10 PLAYERS this summer.
The Blues were dumped out of the Champions League on Tuesday night as a 2-0 quarter-final second-leg defeat to Real Madrid saw them exit 4-0 on aggregate.
They have also slipped to 11th in the Premier League table, 17 points adrift of the top four.
That is despite spending £600million across the last two transfer windows, bloating their squad to more than 30 players since the arrival of new owner Todd Boehly.
Managers Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter have also been sacked this season, with Frank Lampard placed in interim charge until the end of the campaign.
And Cole, who won three Premier League titles with Chelsea, feels reducing the size of the squad has to be a priority this summer.
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When asked on BT Sport whether the absence of European football could be a plus for the Blues next season, he said: “It helped Antonio Conte’s team. Chelsea finished 10th and then won the league after Conte came in.
“I’m not saying I think Chelsea are going to win the league next season – there’s more than enough strong teams above them – but without a doubt it will help the team.
“But it will only help if Chelsea offload at least 10 players. I think at least 10 players need to be trimmed from the squad.”
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Despite Chelsea’s dreadful campaign, former England striker Michael Owen does not believe the problems at Stamford Bridge are as serious as some fear.
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But he agreed with Cole that a culling of the squad needs to take place.
He said: “I don’t think there’s as many problems as you might think.
“With a little bit of a clear-out, a smaller squad and some stability, it’s almost impossible to think they will finish in the bottom-half again next season.
“They will bounce back and be a top-six team, I’m certain of that. All is not lost – they’ve got some great players, there’s a lot going for this club.
“They just need to sort out some of these problems but it could be a lot worse.”
Chelsea will look to end a run of seven games without a win when they host Brentford on Wednesday.
Lampard has lost all four matches since taking interim charge earlier this month.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
