PREMIER LEAGUE ‘It was a wrong project’ – Chelsea legend blasts Boehly ownership

The former midfielder has blamed the Blues owner for the club’s current problems and feels he had no idea what he was getting into when he took over

Former Chelsea midfielder Geremi Njitap has blamed Todd Boehly’s poor planning for the club’s current problems which have seen them rooted in the bottom half of the Premier League table following a string of poor results this season.

Boehly bought the club from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovic at the end of last season but has overseen a chaotic reign that includes a scattergun approach in the transfer market, where £600 million was splashed on new players, with Frank Lampard their fourth coach this season and the Blues have paid heavily as they sit 12th on the table.

Geremi, who played for Chelsea between 2003 and 2007 while winning two Premier League titles, feels Boehly was either not prepared or had no idea what he was getting into when he bought the club.

“It was a wrong project. I’m not trying to take the position of someone but when you take a team like Chelsea, you come with a project, I mean people who run the team,” Geremi told NTV’s SportOn on Monday.

“What is your project, what are you expecting in one, two, three four years’ time. This is how you have to plan. You just see Chelsea now and say they have a bad season which is true, but I don’t know what is the project.”

“I know they brought in a lot of players but bringing big players does not mean you will win. You need to have a condition to perform well.”

Geremi’s observation mirrors Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s sentiments when he said last weekend that he was ‘happy’ to see Chelsea struggle because signing so many good players does not mean you will end up with a great team.

The Blues brought in eight new faces during the January transfer window, such as the British record £105m move for Enzo Fernandez and the £88m signing of Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk with the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly, Benoit Badiashile, Wesly Fofana, David Fofana, Marc Cucurella, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Joao Felix among the new arrivals.

Despite the transfer spend, Chelsea have experienced problems on the pitch, leading to Graham Potter being sacked at the start of April and Lampard installed as the club's interim manager after Bruno Saltor took charge briefly.

Potter's short reign, having taken over from Thomas Tuchel in September, was reportedly hindered by the Blues' bloated squad size.

Chelsea have not won a game since beating struggling Leicester City on March 8, slipping down the table, while also exiting the Champions League, with Lampard still searching for his first victory after experiencing five straight defeats since his return to the club.

The Blues take on London rivals Arsenal in the Premier League on Tuesday night, a match the Gunners are considered favourites to win, since they are out to revive their title chances.