Former Chelsea defender William Gallas has voiced his frustration over the club’s decision not to adequately replace Thiago Silva after the Brazilian’s departure this summer, Soccernet.football reports.
Silva, who spent four influential years at Stamford Bridge, returned to Fluminense, leaving behind a significant void both on and off the pitch.
The 39-year-old’s leadership and defensive nous were key during his time at the club, and there were expectations that Chelsea would make a high-profile signing to fill his shoes.
However, Gallas, a key part of Chelsea’s title-winning defence in the early 2000s, believes the club’s failure to bring in a top-class replacement could cost them dearly this season.
“I can’t understand how the club can allow Thiago Silva to go and not think that they need to bring in someone that can run the backline with authority,” Gallas told Prime Casino, as cited on X.
“The Chelsea defence is missing a top-class centre-back. It’s too much to expect Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana to run the defence, they’re both promising players, but they need someone to guide them.”
Chelsea did sign Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer from Fulham, but Gallas feels the club should have made a more significant investment.
“It’s always the same problem. If you don’t have good defenders, if you don’t have a strong base, you can score goals but you’re going to concede goals, and you will drop points. That’s what happened against Crystal Palace,” he added.
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