Marcel Desailly: Chelsea Should Make Move For Neymar

Chelsea should make a move for Neymar in this transfer market. Those are the words of former Chelsea and France star Marcel Desailly.

We recently caught up with Desailly who had plenty of strong takes on additions that the Blues should make in the remainder of this transfer window. He also gave his assessment of where the club are at now, how Pochettino can get the most out of this squad and why he chose Chelsea over Liverpool as a player.

Chelsea Should Move For Neymar

I think Chelsea should move for Neymar. I believe he is still part of the six or seven best in the world, but there has to be a real desire from the coach to have him.

To be able to express himself, he needs to be in a system where he is the playmaker and the leader, behind two strikers or on the left with some freedom. And he needs someone behind him who can really understand, and a striker in front of him who can really understand him getting the ball and wanting it back, first time.

There are a lot of factors around Neymar and I don’t know if Pochettino could fit him into his system.

He has to align with the coach’s philosophy. The coach has to put his ego down to accept that he will change his philosophy a bit to adapt to Neymar.

Chelsea Unlikely To Finish Top Four

The people who are invested in Chelsea know that this is a medium to long-term process before they can come back to the top-four. It is a two to three year project before getting back into the system. You need to build the players and increase their value, get them up to speed with the project.

I want Chelsea to finish top-four because I am a fan, but I don’t think it will happen when you look at their rivals right now.

Chelsea are a team that need to build up again that winning mentality. I don’t mind about how much they spent because they know what they’re doing when you look at the length of the investment. I don’t think they will do it this season.

How Pochettino Can Get Most Out Of This Chelsea Squad

Pochettino doesn’t yet have that individual player who can make the difference for his team, that established player like Mbappe.

At the time we talked about Neymar who could have been one option. But they don’t have one so I believe it’s a collective matter, altogether at the same time.

But this can’t happen with the grade of player that they have. Players who can follow the philosophy of the coach, the intensity of the Premier League, they all have to be digested. Unless it’s a first class player like Mbappe.

Desailly’s Verdict On Comparisons Of Chelsea Signing Ogochukwu To Himself

Chelsea’s new signing Lesley Ogochukwu has been compared to you. Is that a fair comparison and what can we expect from him?

It’s great if Ogochukwu has the potential, but now the players access the top level a bit faster than before.

Come back to me when he has done a full season. Now he has to digest he is now suddenly a leader and he has to perform, he has to digest the stress that comes with playing at that level.

He must be agile, strong, technical and I hope he has a good mindset for the game. I’m happy he has signed but it won’t be easy for him.

Vlahovic Is Good Enough For The Premier League

Chelsea have been linked with Dusan Vlahovic. As someone who played in Italy yourself, do you think he will be good enough for the Premier League?

Dusan Vlahovic is good enough for the Premier League. I love the player, he’s just amazing. For him it’s not just about the Premier League it has to be about his own desire too. He’s very smart, intelligent in his movements and is definitely the type of player Chelsea need.

The potential is there and I don’t think it’s been realised fully because of his environment. Something at Juventus is not correct, he’s not been able to make that difference but for Chelsea, wow.

Reports suggest Chelsea are offering Romelu Lukaku in exchange for Vlahovic. Is that a good deal, or does Lukaku still have a future at Chelsea?

Lukaku still has the potential to get back to his previous level, but I think something is broken with him that would make returning to Chelsea difficult. Even if the management has changed, if he gets back then deep down something is broken inside. He decided to move back to Inter, he loves Italy and the lifestyle and I think they should make the move straight away without discussing it, even though they will see Lukaku is performing yet again after selling him.

Even though he can perform at another club, something feels broken and it would be better to bring new blood in.

It also feels there’s a bad perception of him at Chelsea, he’s been called overweight, faced criticism that he doesn’t score enough or that he has poor technique. I feel it is better he is at a club that has a desire for him to get back into their system.

Arsenal Need To Be Patient With Jesus Injury

Arsenal have just lost Gabriel Jesus to injury. Do you think Arsenal should consider Vlahovic too?

Arsenal have to be patient after the injury to Gabriel Jesus because the investment in Vlahovic is a lot.

Once you have him back it’s going to be a problem because if he’s performing like he did last year, it will be too much investment in the same position already, so I don’t think Arsenal should move for Vlahovic.

The Caicedo-Chelsea Transfer Saga

Do you think, to Chelsea, Moises Caicedo is worth the £105m that Brighton are asking for?

I respect Moises Caicedo a lot. It’s business, now you can see many investors are coming to the Premier League to buy players from academies, England and other countries. They know the values.

So he’s twice the price Zinedine Zidane was in my era! I think fans should stop thinking about fees and salaries of the players, because in 20 years time he’s going to be worth £200m! It’s business, and yes it has gone a bit crazy, when you see Ousmane Dembele, they got him for £150m and now they are selling him to PSG for £50m so that’s a huge loss.

Lifestyle Led Desailly To Join Chelsea Over Liverpool

The lifestyle is probably why I joined Chelsea over Liverpool, yes.

My wife made a real statement that she didn’t want me to drive between London and Liverpool while she stayed in London and my four kids did not have a French school. It’s one of the reasons at the time I chose Chelsea.

Footballers are human beings, we have to deal with the internal elements that help us make decisions. And small things like that sometimes make the difference, because the money will be good wherever you go.

You are trying to make the best deal out of the proposal, but at the end of the day you don’t really care. What you care about is also the lifestyle you are going to have on top of your football.

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