John Terry has sent a warning to any Chelsea supporters hoping to see the club sign a superstar like Eden Hazard.
Chelsea bought Hazard from Lille 13 years ago, and the Belgian proved to be one of the Blues’ best-ever purchases.
Hazard was already on his way to stardom at that point, and by the time the former winger left Stamford Bridge, he was one of the best footballers in the world.
Cole Palmer now dons Hazard’s No.10 shirt and is making the same kind of impact as the 34-year-old in west London.
John Terry warns Chelsea fans club aren’t in position to sign players like Eden Hazard
While Palmer has been a revelation at Chelsea, he was a relatively unknown prospect at Manchester City who was hardly playing before his move to the Blues.
Hazard, in contrast, was an established first-team player at Lille who everyone knew about. He is the kind of name Terry fears Chelsea can no longer attract until they start competing for the big trophies again.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, the Chelsea legend said: “Fans need to understand that to sign top players and improve your group then you have to attract the best players then you have to win and compete for the biggest trophies.
“That’s the Champions League, the Premier League and we’re not doing that at the minute. We probably have to say: ‘we’ll take the second best striker, the third best striker, whatever that looks like.’ That’s where we are.
“That’s probably why we’ve gone down the younger route at the minute and we haven’t got players of the calibre of Didier [Drogba], Hazard and these guys wanting to come to Chelsea because we are the best and we are guaranteed to win a trophy.”
Chelsea have already signed one striker this summer after bringing in Liam Delap from Ipswich Town.
Delap is someone Theo Walcott wanted at Arsenal, with the former England international being a fan of the Chelsea signing. But with Delap still establishing himself at this level, his arrival at Stamford Bridge proves the point Terry is trying to make.
What John Terry wanted before Liam Delap signing
If Terry had things his way, then Chelsea would have signed a centre-forward with a bit more experience than Delap.
Terry expressed his desire for a seasoned No.9 before Delap’s arrival, saying: “I think if you’re looking to go to that next step, you need to bring in someone who’s proven, who’s done it, who’s scored goals in the Premier League. That tends to be an experienced player.
“The owners are quite clear they’re not going to go down that route. They don’t want to bring someone of 29 or 30 years of age in on big money. It’s going to be a different model and a different mindset. So, I don’t think we’ll go down that route. I personally feel we do need [an experienced striker].”
Delap is not a complete novice, though, playing a full Premier League season last term. In total, the 22-year-old made 37 appearances and scored 12 goals for Ipswich.
He could now make his Chelsea debut when Enzo Maresca‘s men take on Los Angeles FC in their first Club World Cup game on Monday evening.
