Chelsea cult hero urges new manager Enzo Maresca to ditch Blues transfer strategy… and bring him out of retirement

GARY CAHILL has called on Chelsea to abandon their transfer strategy and buy older, more experienced players like himself.

Todd Boehly’s spending spree, worth more than £1bn since buying the Blues in 2022, has focused on paying big money for rising young stars.

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Boehly signed huge cheques for Wesley Fofana (£75m), Mykhailo Mudryk (£88m), Enzo Fernandez (£110m) and record signing Moises Caicedo (£115m).

New manager Enzo Maresca has continued the trend since taking over from Mauricio Pochettino in the summer with Omari Kellyman (£19m), Tosin Adarabioyo (free), Marc Guiu (£5m), Kieran Dewsbury-Hall (£30m) and Renato Veiga (£11.75m) all coming through the Stamford Bridge front door.

But Cahill believes the smartest move the new manager could make before the transfer window closes would be to bring in some veteran players.

Thiago Silva spent four years in west London, bringing his trophy-winning know-how and leadership expertise to a young team that desperately lacked it.

But after the 39-year-old joined on a free transfer at the end of last season, the only two players over the age of 30 currently in the squad are Romelu Lukaku, 31, and Marcus Bettinelli, 32.

Among last season’s starters, Raheem Sterling is the oldest at 29.

Cahill, 38, said: “I’d like to see a bit of experience added in the window, to be honest.

“It would be a sensible move from Chelsea, from my personal point of view, to try and build that backbone and bring some of those young players together.

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“Obviously the tactic has been to buy promising young players and then develop them over the next two or three years. It sometimes takes time, especially when you get players from different leagues, from different countries. It’s not always easy for them to integrate.

“For me, a good transfer window for Chelsea would be to have two or three experienced players who are not in phase and who potentially know the league but who have been there for a while.

“That would be essential to bring the team together and help these young players progress and almost set the standards and levels.

“Like with Thiago, he had a big impact there, didn’t he? Even at the age he was, it was a huge impact. It’s a big loss not only in terms of the game but also in the dressing room.

“This experience will help this team on and off the field.”

Asked who his future player would be, the 61-cap former England defender and 2012 Champions League winner joked: “Me, mate! Have you seen me on Soccer Aid?

“But that kind of pedigree, an experienced player, a top player and a player who has experience and knows the standards and knows what it’s like to compete and be at a big club and try to fight for trophies.”

Maresca certainly knows how to lead teams to trophies, having been Pep Guardiola’s No.2 during the treble-winning season before lifting the league title in his solo campaign as Leicester boss, ensuring the Foxes an immediate return to the Premier League.

But Cahill doesn’t necessarily expect Maresca to add to his personal medal collection in 2024-25.

He added: “Time will tell. It’s quite risky. I think people don’t know how it’s going to play out.”

“The new manager has his own philosophies and ideas. It is difficult to implement everything and achieve immediate success.

“It takes a little time and patience.

“Patience cannot be a mid-table. I think patience must be a way to compete for the Champions League and continue in the latter stages of the cup competition.

“They have a lot of potential in the team. It just needs to get stronger. I think they need another year or two to develop and get to where they want to be because you have a very young and middle-aged team.”

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