Do Chelsea need to sign standard-setters for the dressing room - and how can they do it?

AFC BournemouthArsenalAston VillaBrentfordBrighton & Hove AlbionBurnleyChelseaCrystal PalaceEvertonFulhamLeeds UnitedLiverpoolManchester CityManchester UnitedNewcastle UnitedNottingham ForestSunderlandTottenham HotspurWest Ham UnitedWolverhampton WanderersScores & ScheduleStandingsFantasyThe Athletic FC NewsletterPodcastsDo Chelsea need to sign standard-setters for the dressing room – and how can they do it?Chelsea's squad is full of young players, but is it time to add experience? Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images Share articleThe quality Chelsea might most need to add to their squad this summer cannot be measured by data. Chelsea’s sporting directors have a lengthy to-do list that includes hiring a head coach, reinforcing a defence that has not kept a Premier League clean sheet since January, and reinvigorating the attack of a team that has scored once in six league matches. But arguably more than ball-carrying ability, set-piece specialism, or line-breaking passes, they need leadership. “You cannot put a price on a senior pro,” says Scott Minto, who played for Chelsea from 1994-1997. “It doesn’t have to be an old team, but if you’ve got senior pros in important key positions, I only think they’re three players away from genuinely challenging (for top honours).” Under owner BlueCo, the model has been to sign the world’s best young footballers to long contracts during which, Chelsea hope, they will become title-winners. As Chelsea approach the end of a fourth season under this ownership, acknowledgement is growing that a tweak is needed. “The perfect example is Paris Saint-Germain,” says Minto. In the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against the holders, Chelsea performed well until goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen’s error in the 74th minute triggered a collapse. “Chelsea were brilliant for the first 70 minutes. They make a mistake, 3-2 — (they should) see the game out at 3-2. No, it ends up being 5-2, then you’re chasing the tie. “But what a senior pro does, he helps control the game. It may just be sitting in, it may be making sure you keep yourself tight, that perhaps you don’t play that out from the back from the goalkeeper. You do go long for the next 10 minutes to try and turn them and make sure they can’t win the ball off you in a dangerous position.” In an interview with The Athletic, full-back Marc Cucurella reflected that against PSG, “we lacked players who had gone through situations like that. “You need time as well, and I know the young players are the ones who will have the experience in the future,” Cucurella said. “But you need to find the balance between both worlds.” Co-owner Behdad Eghbali and former head coach Liam Rosenior both hinted in April that a shift to the recruitment policy was coming, with Eghbali referencing a move to “add more ready-made players”. Minto, whose playing career included three seasons with Chelsea and five with West Ham United, as well as spells with Charlton Athletic, Benfica, and Rotherham United, is clear on the impact seasoned professionals can have. “The standout one is Dennis Wise as captain. During the game, he might not be having the best of games, and he’s having a go at me for not having the best of games. “And that’s a captain. Even if they’re not playing particularly well, they’ll make sure that everybody else is on their toes as well. “West Ham is a standout one as well. In those early days where we finished fifth (1999), there was Ian Wright, there was Neil Ruddock, there was Steve Lomas as the captain, John Moncur. You know, we had youngsters like Rio (Ferdinand), Frank (Lampard), Joe Cole… but they were able to come into a dressing room that was full of characters. “I’m not saying the Chelsea players aren’t strong characters. I think Reece James is arguably, along with (Achraf) Hakimi, the best right-back in the world. Enzo Fernandez is a World Cup winner. Cole Palmer is a world-class talent. But what I don’t think they are is leaders — and by that, I mean setting that culture, setting that standard, having a go at the players who need to be up.” Minto recalls the influence of these standard-setting players across training as well as matchdays, such as having players hold the half-time team talk or meetings on a Monday morning, without the manager’s involvement. “Not finger-pointing, but just honesty.” “If you’re going to win Champions Leagues and Premier Leagues,” Minto says, “you have to get three or four proper senior players who have been there, seen it, done it, and will add to the quality of the youngsters and the talent that they’ve got.” When Brentford signed 35-year-old Jordan Henderson last summer, head coach Keith Andrews was clear that his experience and ability to “drive standards” was a prime factor. Minto points at the impact of Granit Xhaka, 33, on Sunderland’s season. Another example is Brighton & Hove Albion signing James Milner in 2023 at the age of 37. “He is an intense individual, but in a positive way,” chief executive Paul Barber told The Athletic in February. “He demands high standards, he sets high standards, he maintains high standards.” The natural question becomes how Chelsea go about finding these standard-setters. Data can tell club staff about a player’s execution in the final third, or how they cope in one-on-one duels, but not how they communicate with team-mates or behave around the training ground. One source working as a scout at a Premier League club, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect relationships, explained to The Athletic how clubs can do their research on these qualities. Scouting players in person, not only online, is key. Observing their behaviour can be revealing: for instance, whether they are helping lead exercises and paying attention in the warm-up, if they are part of any cliques, whether they are vocal during the match, and so on. The same source stresses the importance of due diligence in assessing a player’s character. That includes detailed background research into a potential signing’s personal life. References are crucial in understanding a player’s leadership qualities, the source says — and it can be difficult to acquire those references for young players who simply have not had the time to show those characteristics yet. Making these signings is a variation on the approach BlueCo have been keen on. Logic would also suggest it might require a different approach in some cases on wages and contracts: Chelsea would presumably be unlikely to offer an eight-year deal to a player in their mid or late twenties, and players with shining CVs might baulk at the idea of heavily incentivised contracts with a lower base salary. These moves would require BlueCo to flex their ideology to an extent we have not seen yet — but could pay dividends. “Those type of players that have been there, seen it, done it, that might cost a bit and might not have a sell-on value,” Minto says, “but they are the difference between that final step.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms