Chelsea weaker for allowing star trio to leave, pundit claims

Chelsea have a weaker side this season for having let John Terry, Nemanja Matic and Diego Costa leave, a former player has claimed.

Ray Wilkins also believes Antonio Conte’s side have not brought in the same quality with Tiemoue Bakayoko and Alvaro Morata not of the same standard as either Matic or Costa.

Antonio Conte’s side currently sit fourth in the Premier League table and trail joint leaders Manchester City and Manchester United by six points having won four of their seven games so far.

But Wilkins believes Chelsea’s hierarchy have done Conte no favours with their transfer dealings.

“I don’t think we are anywhere near as good as last year,” Wilkins told Sky Sports. “We had the best forward (Costa) in the league last year.

“We had people at the club that you need at a football club, like John Terry.”

With Costa having recently departed for Atletico Madrid, Wilkins is also especially agitated by the exits of Matic to Man Utd and Terry to Aston Villa.

“I don’t know why we didn’t offer John something around the club to keep that Chelsea business going on, I really don’t,” he added.

“And Bakayoko is no Matic… not yet anyway. Matic is just superb.

“I don’t think we are anywhere near what we were last year.”