Graham Potter has been urged to ensure Jorginho and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are not part of his long-term Chelsea plans.
It’s been another busy month in the transfer window so far for the Blues, with Joao Felix and Mykhailo Mudryk among the five January arrivals to add to a record-breaking summer of spending.
No midfielders have yet been brought in though, despite that being an area that appears to need attention. Both Jorginho and N’Golo Kante are out of contract in the summer, with the Italian expected to leave on a free transfer at the end of the season.
Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf hopes that is the case, believing the 31-year-old is no longer good enough for the club.
“Jorginho has served the club very well but he’s nowhere near it anymore,” Leboeuf told Chelsea News.
“I had my time at Chelsea and people made it clear that John Terry was coming and I had to make way for him, and that’s understandable. That’s life.
“There is a present and there is a past, and the future is not for us. You have to accept that.
“I do like the way Jorginho plays, but he’s too slow when he has the ball, and defensively he doesn’t participate enough for me.”
Chelsea’s signings in forward areas have raised questions over Aubameyang’s future, just a few months after he left Spain to make his Premier League return.
Having already played for Barcelona and Chelsea this season, the striker cannot feature for a third side until the 2023/24 campaign, but that hasn’t stopped him being linked with a potential move to Atletico Madrid.
Aubameyang has not started for the Blues since the World Cup, with his involvement limited to a number of cameos off the bench. He has scored just one Premier League goal this season.
“I’m not sure Potter has the players that he wants,” Lebouef said. “We all know that we need a striker.
“I like Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, I played with his father and I love him, but I know that he’s not the guy we needed. They asked me at ESPN if I was OK with him and I said no it’s too late, he’s not the Aubameyang we knew.”
