Frank Leboeuf has urged Xabi Alonso to replace Robert Sanchez, insisting there are still ‘question marks’ over Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper.
Alonso took over at Stamford Bridge this summer and has plenty to improve after the Blues’ dismal tenth-place finish in the Premier League last season.
But the Spaniard has received the club’s backing in his first transfer market, with Morgan Rogers arriving from Aston Villa for a record £117million fee along with Maxence Lacroix, Marco Palestra and Valentin Barco.
And Chelsea have also looked to address their lack of experience within the squad by signing Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck from Brentford and Brighton, respectively.
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Former Scotland striker Ally McCoist has already tipped Chelsea as his dark horses for this upcoming season, and Leboeuf also appeared confident about his former side’s chances.
‘I feel better because they finally understood the fact that they needed players with experience, with the fact that Henderson and also Danny Welbeck are coming,’ he told ESPN.
‘Lacroix is also coming and he has experience now being an international player. I think it’s a good thing that those young players are surrounded by players who can show them the way, first in the dressing room, by behaving the right way, working hard in the training ground, but also knowing how to handle some hard times during the game.
‘So I think it’s a very good thing.’
But Leboeuf also insisted that there were several areas to improve within the squad, as he urged Alonso to prioritise a new goalkeeper to replace Sanchez.
The Spaniard has never fully convinced since his £25m move from Brighton in 2023, making a number of high-profile errors throughout his three seasons at Stamford Bridge.
Asked to analyse Chelsea’s predicted starting XI for next season, Leboeuf said of Sanchez: ‘I still have a question mark over the goalkeeper.
‘Sanchez can be very good on the line, but with his feet, he’s always creating issues and scares the fans when he has the ball at his feet.’
Meanwhile, the former French centre-back also believes Alonso needs to trim down his squad, adding: ‘I think they have like 45 players. They have to get rid of some of them.
‘And of course, Xabi Alonso will have to get a selection of the players and maybe get rid of 15, at least 15 players. That’s insane, but it’s what he has to do. Otherwise, you cannot work.
‘You cannot be able to work properly every day, week in, week out, to make sure that you have everybody tuned in. So it’s going to be hard.
‘He’s going to get rid of the players he doesn’t want, because if they are here or not, they’re going to create problems inside the dressing room.’
But despite the need to move on several players before the end of the window, Leboeuf believes Chelsea should still be aiming to get back into the Champions League with a top-five finish this season.
‘A good season is, of course, in the Champions League fourth or fifth place spots,’ he added. ‘But for me, the only club right now where I’m going to say is pretty sure to get into the first five is Arsenal.
‘The others have doubts everywhere. City, we don’t know what’s going to happen with the new coach. Liverpool, with the team, we don’t really know.
‘And the same for United. Last year, for more than half of the season, they were struggling. So nobody is assured to be in the first four, but Arsenal, I would say, right now.’
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