Rudderless Chelsea’s sustained slump risks making Cole Palmer restless

The 22-year-old is an elite player. How might he react if the Blues miss out on Champions League qualification again?

Remember those chants of “We’ve got our Chelsea back” when Enzo Maresca’s side thumped Southampton at St Mary’s in December? Life moves quickly in west London. Two months have passed since those heady days, back when the talk was of a burgeoning title challenge, and the mood at Stamford Bridge has fractured so rapidly that the theme of a protest against the owners before their home game against Southampton on Tuesday night is – wait for it – “We want our Chelsea back”.

It may seem an overreaction to a dip in form. Even so it is not hard to find fans who feel a growing disconnection with the club and struggle to understand Chelsea’s youth-driven recruitment strategy. They sense that the change pushed by the majority shareholder, Clearlake Capital, has been too intense; that too much knowledge has left the building since the end of the Roman Abramovich era. Perhaps it is why Chelsea, who have built a squad full of raw talent but short of experienced leaders, look rudderless when games go against them.

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