"I can't see this lasting" – Gary Neville weighs in on 'madness' at Chelsea as he defends Mauricio Pochettino amid 'chaos'
Manchester United great Gary Neville has expressed his surprise about Chelsea's recent run of poor results, asserting that Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino is the still right man for the job.
The Blues, who continued their trend of breaking the bank earlier this summer, are currently a hot topic of discussion due to their underwhelming performances. They are on a three-match winless streak now.
Chelsea, who finished 12th in the Premier League standings past season, recently popped up on the headlines after crashing to a 1-0 league loss against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge. They tasted defeat due to Ollie Watkins' 73rd minute winner on Sunday (September 24).
Speaking on his Sky Sports podcast, Neville expressed his faith on Pochettino and also his bafflement at Chelsea's recent form. He said:
"What are Chelsea doing?! What is happening with the club? I've got great faith in Mauricio Pochettino, but he's got a huge pack of cards and he's struggling to know which hand to play. It's a mystery as to what's happening."
Neville also claimed that the Blues might undergo a series of changes with respect to both transfer strategy and on-pitch display. He added:
"Sometimes chaos just flows throughout a club. I think there will be some changes in how they go about their business soon enough. I can't see this lasting in terms of how the club is being run. It's madness right now."
The Blues will next be in action in their EFL Cup third round tie against Brighton & Hove Albion at home on Wednesday (September 27).
Ex-Chelsea star Frank Leboeuf casts doubt on Blues' summer business following defeat
Speaking on ESPN FC, ex-Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf shared his two cents on Blues new boy Nicolas Jackson. He said after the Blues' recent 1-0 loss at the hands of Aston Villa:
"Nicolas Jackson has a future, but last year he was struggling until the other Villarreal striker got injured, so he came on. I don't know about the others. Christopher Nkunku is injured so we'll have to wait until he comes back."
Suggesting Al-Hilal's Aleksandar Mitrovic as a target, Leboeuf added:
"If they have so much money, they should have bought Harry Kane or so many others. I see some players in France playing for Brest or Lorient, scoring goals like crazy, being a true striker, I've talked about Mitrovic before. Pick somebody with a little bit of experience who knows how to score a goal in the six-yard box!"
Mauricio Pochettino's side splashed over £400 million on new signings earlier this summer, including a combined fee of £101 million on Jackson, Christopher Nkunku and Deivid Washington. They also added the likes of Moises Caicedo, Axel Disasi, Cole Palmer, Romeo Lavia and Robert Sanchez to completely revamp their squad.
Chelsea, who have scored five goals in six league games so far this season, could decide to delve into the upcoming winter window. They have allegedly been linked with Ivan Toney and Dusan Vlahovic of late.