Emmanuel Petit believes Christopher Nkunku was sorely missed by Chelsea last season.
Nkunku joined the Blues from RB Leipzig last summer but suffered a knee injury in pre-season that kept him out for several months, during which the club struggled.
The 26-year-old didn't make his Premier League debut for Chelsea until Christmas Eve, and he ended up only making 14 appearances across all competitions last season.
Petit thinks Nkunku could have made a big difference for the London side had he been healthy for most of the campaign, and he believes the France international would have fit in well with two players in particular.
"I've been following him Nkunku for years," Petit told Gambling Zone. "I watched most of his games when he was playing for Leipzig in Germany, and even when he was here in France at PSG. You could tell that he was a player with a lot of quality.
"He has wonderful technical ability, amazing movement and vision. He was the missing link last season at Chelsea, especially when you look at the improvement of [Conor] Gallagher.
"With Gallagher and Cole Palmer behind him, supporting him and feeding him balls, I think Chelsea would have been really, really strong. It was a shame that he wasn’t fit enough to play with those guys between the lines.
"That was an attribute that was missing from Chelsea’s game last season."
Despite praising Nkunku's skill level, Petit warned that the former Leipzig and PSG man could struggle to adapt to one certain aspect of the Premier League.
"The main problem with Nkunku is physically," Petit explained. "He’s had so many injuries, which is a big concern.
"He has to change and to adapt to the Premier League, it’s a step up in terms of the physical demands, and he still hasn’t done that yet because he has been injured. I hope he can have a very good pre-season physically and that we can cope with all the demands.
"If he's fit, he will be a difficult player for defenses to deal with. If he can get off to a good start, I would back him to keep his place in the starting eleven.
"If Chelsea let Gallagher leave, then they will definitely need to get someone between the lines and behind the strikers, and that is a job he can do."
Live on DAZN: Serhii Bohachuk vs. Vergil Ortiz Jr. on August 10. Click here for details.