Chelsea are busy preparing for the upcoming Premier League season under new boss Enzo Maresca but one of the club's legends has gone as far to say his former side will never win the top-flight crown ever again.
The Stamford Bridge side have undergone a change in the dugout over the summer, following the departure of Mauricio Pochettino.
Maresca has been recruited from Leicester City after leading the Foxes back to the top flight at the first attempt in his only season in charge at the King Power Stadium.
The Italian will be aiming to improve on a sixth-placed finish last season for Blues, which ended without silverware.
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It has been a busy summer of comings and goings at Chelsea, with a large turnover in the squad.
Midfielders Omari Kellyman, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Renato Veiga have been signed from Aston Villa, Leicester and Basel respectively.
Tosin Adarabioyo has joined from neighbours Fulham on a free transfer, with left-back Caleb Wiley signing from Atlanta United, striker Marc Guiu arriving from Barcelona, and most recently goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen signing from Villarreal.
Heading out of Chelsea on free transfers have been defenders Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr, while transfer fees have been obtained through the sales of Ian Maatsen, Hakim Ziyech, Omari Hutchinson and Lewis Hall.
Conor Gallagher is also on the verge of leaving after a cut-price deal with Atletico Madrid was agreed.
Chelsea have been under the ownership of BlueCo and chairman Todd Boehly since being sold by Roman Abramovich in 2022, under whom success had been regular.
But former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf, who played for the club between 1996 and 2001 and won the FA Cup twice, is not convinced by what he has seen under the new ownership.
In fact, he has gone as far to claim that if the club continues on the same route that has been seen in the past few seasons, though they might be able to achieve cup success, Chelsea can forget about winning the Premier League title ever again.
Speaking to Instant Casino, the Frenchman said: "Some fans think Chelsea can just start from scratch next season, but it won’t really be starting from scratch after spending a billion pounds.
"The club can do whatever they want with their money but as a former player, I think it’s kind of a disgrace to see what we are seeing.
"The talent is there in the squad but you don’t have many leaders or players you can rely on, that’s the biggest problem Enzo Maresca has.
"It’s possible that Chelsea can win a cup, like the FA Cup this season potentially, but never the Premier League. No way.
"If they keep going the way they’re going then they will never win a Premier League title again, they need experience. It just won’t work."
Chelsea last won the Premier League title in 2017, when Antonio Conte was in charge of the club, and begin their top flight season on August 18 when they host champions Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.
Topics: Chelsea, Premier League, Enzo Maresca
John McDougall