Former Chelsea midfielder Jody Morris believes the Blues should plot a summer move for departing Manchester City star Bernardo Silva.
Chelsea have endured another turbulent season under BlueCo’s ownership, and now look poised to miss out on Champions League football after a run of five straight Premier League defeats.
The west London club have made it through to the FA Cup final, but the sackings of both Enzo Maresca and his replacement, Liam Rosenior, have left the club in a state of limbo heading into the summer.
Morris urged the club to depart from their aggressive youth-first transfer policy this summer to provide the new incoming boss with some much-needed experience in his squad.
And the former Blues midfielder namechecked Silva as an ideal signing, with the Portuguese international set to leave City on a free transfer this summer, nine seasons after joining from Monaco for £43million.
‘I’m not sure that we’ll be able to become title contenders next season no matter what we do, to be honest,’ Morris said. ‘I think we’re so far off it.
‘I think that bringing in some real quality characters and experience will certainly help the players that are good enough to be at Chelsea and the players that are maybe just underperforming and have the potential to go on and be better than what they are at the moment.
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‘I think there are certain players at the football club that I don’t think it would matter who you bring in, I’m not sure that they’re going to improve too much. I think those are the ones that maybe you need to move on.
‘But certainly bringing in people like Bernardo Silva would be good, his performance the other day was absolutely outstanding.
‘That’s all we’ve seen for nine years at Manchester City: Someone who is not big in stature, you wouldn’t necessarily say he’s physically unbelievable apart from the distance he covers, but he plays with pure intelligence, is brave as you like, is a great character and he’s always available and turns up in big games.
‘So would I look at Bernardo Silva? Absolutely.’
But Morris also expressed his doubt that Silva would be keen on a move to Stamford Bridge, and said the club’s lack of high-profile leaders may discourage other experienced players from joining.
Speaking to FindSisterSites, he added: ‘But if I was Bernardo Silva, I wouldn’t be looking anywhere near Chelsea though, and that’s coming from a massive Chelsea fan.
‘I think that’s where a problem lies. We aren’t qualifying for the Champions League and if you’re an experienced player, you want to see other experienced players coming through the door.
‘So whether there’s a domino effect, whoever the first person through the door is will have to be a brave person because if you don’t get Champions League football then I’m not sure many will be following.’
Chelsea return to action on Monday when they host Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge.
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