Ex-Chelsea defender William Gallas has criticised the Blues’ summer transfer activity, claiming it was “rushed” and ill thought through.

The London club spent £270m on new signings, and Gallas has not been impressed by some of the players that have been brought in, including Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang:

“They spent a lot of money in the summer. The players that they signed have been performing below the expected level of a Chelsea player. Wesley Fofana is injured, but we all knew about his injury record. I don’t know what they are getting from Cucarella, who was signed for £60 million! He doesn’t play for Spain. He isn’t in the Chelsea starting eleven. £60 million! Wow! They signed Aubameyang. He doesn’t look good – he did nothing against Arsenal and was on the bench against Newcastle. The club didn’t have any strategy in the transfer window. They rushed it. They tried to buy players for Tuchel, then they sacked him. At the moment, it is a big mess at Chelsea.”

It is hard to argue with Gallas in terms of Chelsea’s poor planning. Most of the recruitment was done in conjunction with Thomas Tuchel, who was sacked just days after the transfer window closed. It will be hoped that a better transfer strategy is in place for January.

When it comes to the players, Gallas is being slightly harsh. It is true that Fofana had spent some time on the treatment table before he arrived at Chelsea, but the ankle injury that led to him being sidelined for most of last season was due to a bad tackle. His current knee problem was also hard to foresee.

With Cucurella and Aubameyang, there are certainly questions to be answered, and we will have to wait and see whether they can prove the doubters wrong in the coming months.