Joe Cole believes Chelsea’s main goal this season should remain securing a return to the UEFA Champions League, claiming the weekend’s home defeat by Sunderland showed why Enzo Maresca’s side are not yet genuine Premier League title contenders.Cole was speaking in the aftermath of The Blues’ surprise 2-1 loss to Regis Le Bris’ impressive Black Cats, as Chelsea squandered a lead to see their four-game winning streak ended in dramatic fashion.
Alejandro Garnacho’s well-taken fourth-minute opener was cancelled out before half-time when Wilson Isidor scrambled in the equaliser from Nordi Mukiele’s long throw, before substitute Chemsdine Talbi steered home the winner past Robert Sanchez in stoppage time.
It meant Chelsea – having beaten Liverpool earlier this month – missed the chance to close the gap on leaders Arsenal to two points, and currently sit eighth ahead of Sunday’s remaining Premier League fixtures.
Maresca remains the only Premier League manager yet to select a player aged 30 or older this term, with the average age of his starting XI this season just 24 years and 112 days – the youngest in the division.
“It’s strange,” Cole told TNT Sports when asked to assess Chelsea’s season. “But they are where I expected them to be, competing to get back into the Champions League.
Sunderland came from behind to win at Chelsea on Saturday
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“Hopefully they’ll qualify more comfortably than they did last year, when they scraped in. They won the Conference League, which, for a club the size of Chelsea, being in that competition, is a bit of an anomaly.
“It was fantastic for the young players, which we hope helps them kick on, and then the Club World Cup was another bit of an anomaly.
“Obviously, it was fantastic to win it, but we still don’t really know where we’re going to go with this trophy.
“The main goal this season has to be qualifying again for the Champions League, but with a bit more space to those beneath them.
“It could be a title challenge, but it’s not looking likely if you don’t win games like this against Sunderland at home.
“It looks great on paper that the squad is still very young, and you are a better player at 23–24 than you are at 20, but there are so many lessons you learn from having senior players around.
“They’ve invested in an experiment effectively by buying young, committing to young footballers, so we’ll see where we are in two years.
“The amount of money that’s been spent and with it being a five-year project, next year there should be a title challenge, and then the year after there needs to be silverware.
“I think that’s fair… that’s not me putting undue demands on them.”
Cole explains why Caicedo is ‘best midfielder in the country’
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Cole hails Estevao but urges patience
Estevao scored in Chelsea’s 5-1 demolition of Ajax in the Champions League last week but was named on the bench by Maresca for the visit of Sunderland.
It wasn’t until the 58th minute that the precocious Brazilian talent was introduced in place of Garnacho as Chelsea chased a winner against the season’s surprise package.
Estevao almost made an instant impact when he latched onto Marc Cucurella’s low cross, only for his shot to deflect wide off Lutsharel Geertruida.
But the inconsistencies of youth were evident in the closing stages as the 18-year-old ran into a cul-de-sac in the build-up to Talbi’s counter-attacking winner, before sending a late corner harmlessly into the side netting.
Cole is relishing the prospect of seeing the teenager – signed from Palmeiras for a reported £29 million – link up with Cole Palmer once the latter returns from a persistent groin injury.
And while the TNT Sports expert believes Estevao is capable of reaching an elite level, he insists Chelsea must avoid placing too much pressure on him too soon.
“He’s a super-talented kid,” Cole continued. “All the right noises are coming out of the club.
“He seems a really good lad and is really popular in the dressing room. Chelsea are really lucky to have got hold of him. They spent the money, and he’s delivering.
‘Not good enough’ – Maresca fumes after Sunderland stun Chelsea
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“Chelsea fans can’t wait to see Estevao and Cole Palmer in the same team. He’s going to be great.
“I’ve said it before, he gives me Neymar vibes. Neymar would have been a Ballon d’Or winner in any other era, but unfortunately, he was around at the same time as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
“The vibe he’s giving me is that he could right to the very top. He needs to stay patient as he doesn’t have to play every minute of every game, but I think Enzo Maresca is the right manager for him.
“What his value is now is irrelevant, as he’s signed a long-term contract at Chelsea, but if he starts putting up numbers like Cole Palmer, then the likes of Real Madrid, PSG, and Bayern Munich will start looking at him in the same way I’m sure Palmer has attracted attention when he’s fit and flying.
“It’s just great that Chelsea have got him as he’s one for the future.”
The last superstar to leave Chelsea for Real Madrid was Eden Hazard, who joined for a fee in excess of £150m in 2019.
Hazard was regarded as one of the best players in the world at the time, having scored 110 goals in 352 games for Chelsea after joining from Lille in 2012.
Highlights: Estevao nets first UCL goal as Chelsea thrash Ajax
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When asked if Estevao could replicate Hazard’s success at Stamford Bridge, Cole said: “Yes, I think he could reach that level.
“He’s younger than when Eden joined the club, so it might not be this year or next year — but in years three, four, and five, I expect him to be one of the best players in the world.
“There’s a journey to be had with him, where the club needs to go and he needs to go on as a player.”
West Ham need up to six new signings in January
Another of Cole’s former clubs, West Ham United, remain marooned in the relegation zone after Nuno Espirito Santo’s winless start as manager stretched to four matches following Friday’s 2-1 defeat to Leeds United at Elland Road.
The Hammers — with just four points from their opening nine games — have now made their joint-worst start to a league season.
Nuno must halt the slide quickly to prevent his side from being cut adrift in the bottom three, and Cole highlighted the sale of influential midfielder Mohammed Kudus to Tottenham Hotspur as a key factor in their decline.
“It’s going to be a tough time,” reflected Cole, who joined The Hammers as a trainee before making a total of 167 appearances.
West Ham have won just one league game this season
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“West Ham fans need to be resilient. They’re in a cycle where there’s been mismanagement with the recruitment, but there’s no point pointing fingers at [chairman] David Sullivan or [former technical director] Tim Steidten, or any of the managers who have come in.
“You can try to blame them all, but there’s been mismanagement over a long period of time.
“The success or failure ultimately falls at the feet of the owner of the club, and I think it’s going to be a difficult season for West Ham.
“It’s too early to say whether it will end in relegation, but based on the signs, it doesn’t look good.
“Nuno Espirito Santo has tried to find a way to get 15-16 points on the board before Christmas, and then they have to have a hell of a January where they need to sign four, five, six players, as there doesn’t look like there’s enough energy in the team.
“It makes selling Mohammed Kudus last summer look like a bad move.”
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