Mikel Obi calls for prolific striker as he criticises Chelsea’s recruitment policy

Former Chelsea and Nigeria midfielder Mikel Obi has criticized Chelsea’s player recruitment policy.

These comments follow Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to reigning league champions Manchester City at Stamford Bridge in their first game of the new Premier League season.

Post-Abramovich struggles continue to haunt Chelsea, even with the introduction of a new coach, Enzo Maresca, who had an impressive season with Leicester City in the Championship last season.

Since Abramovich’s departure, Chelsea has faced a challenging transition, finishing 12th in the 2022/23 season and 6th in 2023/24, marking the club’s worst performances since the 2015/16 season when they placed 10th in the league.

The ex-Nigerian international asserted that the new board’s recruitment strategy is not at the same level as during his time with the Blues.

“At the time, I think it was Marina. She was the sporting director. She was the person who was the face of the club after Roman Abramovich. She was in charge of all the transfers. I think it was done between her and the managers, but at the end of the day, she makes the decision,” he said on beIN SPORTS.

“She brought in the players that she thought could always improve the squad. If you look at the players when I was there, you could see the players coming in. Players like Deco, Michael Ballack, Shevchenko, Fernando Torres. These are big, big players who came to help us improve the team.”

This summer, Chelsea has signed promising players under the age of 21 and other talents, including Omari Kellyman (18), Aaron Anselmino (19), Renato Veiga (20), Caleb Wiley (19), Marc Guiu (18), Estevao Willian (17), Tosin Adarabioyo, Dewsbury-Hall, and Filip Jorgensen.

Mikel further added that Nicolas Jackson cannot lead Chelsea to success, emphasising the need for a prolific striker like Didier Drogba during his days at the club.

“We knew this problem from last season. To get a striker who scores goals. Jackson, yes, he does a little bit here and there, but we need a top striker like we did back in our day.

“Didier Drogba. We knew if you give him two or three chances, he will score one. We’ve seen Haaland today. The first chance he got. The way he took the ball. The way he finished. This is a top, top striker with Premier League experience. We don’t have that.”

By Rabbi Adu Agyei

The post Mikel Obi calls for prolific striker as he criticises Chelsea’s recruitment policy first appeared on 3News.

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