Former Arsenal and Chelsea defender William Gallas has identified the midfielder that Mauricio Pochettino should avoid.
Gallas was a mainstay for both Premier League sides during his career and also had a short spell in North London with Tottenham.
Chelsea are currently behind Arsenal after last season when Mikel Arteta’s team pushed Manchester City close in the title race, before falling away.
Pochettino is overseeing another window of big spending, courtesy of Todd Boehly, and speaking to Gambling Zone, Gallas identified Ebereche Eze of Crystal Palace as a potential signing that would not be good enough for Stamford Bridge.
He said: “I don’t think Eze would be a good signing for Chelsea. You need a midfielder from a top club, at Chelsea you need to play in every competition, even if they are not in the CL this season, and you have to try to compete with Man City.
“They won’t win the Premier League because they are not strong enough, but you need players with experience who can help the young players with what they know. The experienced players are the secret to getting results.
“The people who are recruiting at the club need to do that job properly, and I don’t think they are doing that well. They just buy, buy, buy young players.”
The Frenchman also thinks Arsenal playmaker Emile Smith Rowe would not be suitable either, saying: “Smith Rowe to Chelsea does not make sense for Arsenal. Smith Rowe is one of the players they were talking a lot about before he got injured, everyone was talking about him because he had some good performances and saying he was going to be one of the best midfielders.
“But at the moment it is very difficult for him to develop. That’s why I’m a little bit disappointed with the media because they put some players under the spotlight too quickly and sometimes some young players find difficulty in dealing with this.
“It’s a shame because right now it is a bad situation for him and he doesn’t play, he is on the bench. I don’t think going to Chelsea would be a good move. But I think he should go on loan to get playing time and his confidence back.”