Chelsea's struggles this season were encapsulated by a 5-0 loss to Arsenal on Tuesday, which reinforced the gap between the Blues and the top teams in the Premier League.
With six games left to play, Chelsea are in ninth place and closer to the relegation zone than the top of the table. While there's no threat of relegation for Mauricio Pochettino's men, there's also no chance at a trophy or qualification for a European competition, leaving the club to play out the rest of the campaign with nothing on the line.
As such, the likely best course of action is to look forward, and one former player is doing just that as he gives suggestions on how Chelsea should proceed with their roster building this summer.
Speaking to Lord Ping, two-time Premier League winner William Gallas believes there are three players on the current squad that can be built around, but he has also identified a glaring hole that he feels needs to be filled for the club to become competitive with the better teams.
"Cole Palmer is a player that you can build around," Gallas said.
"You also have Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, but I still think Chelsea are missing a player in the midfield.
"I think they need to change tactics a little and find a player that can play box-to-box. Chelsea are missing a player like Michael Essien. When I was there, we had Claude Makelele, Michael Essien and Frank Lampard.
"Caicedo can play in the front of the defenders like Makelele and Enzo can be more attacking, but then you need the Essien-type who provides the midfield with more balance and has the engine to get up and down the pitch.
"Those (Palmer, Fernandez and Caicedo) are the only three players in the Chelsea squad that you can build your team around.
"There are a lot of question marks about Reece James – he’s injured at the moment – but when he is fit, he is a wonderful player. Unfortunately, he is someone that you can’t build around because of his fitness problems."
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