Chelsea head into the international break fifth in the Premier League and 11 points behind Arsenal, and most of the damage in Xabi Alonso’s first season at Stamford Bridge has come at the back. Five wins, one draw and four defeats have brought 19 goals, but also 16 conceded, a total that looks poor beside Arsenal, who let in just five in their first nine league games.
Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at Sunderland showed why. Levi Colwill brought down Brian Brobbey for the penalty Enzo Le Fée converted in the 36th minute, and Alonso replaced him at half-time while he was on a yellow card, pushing Moises Caicedo from midfield into central defence. “Not happy with how we defended that situation,” Alonso said afterwards.
Injuries have made the picture worse. Maxence Lacroix, the £52m summer signing from Crystal Palace who offers aerial strength and strong game-reading, is out until early 2027 with a hamstring problem, while Acheampong also missed out. Colwill, a left-footed defender who gives the side balance on the ball, played just three Premier League games last season after tearing a cruciate ligament. Wesley Fofana is enjoying his busiest campaign at the club, yet he also struggled to contain Brobbey.
What Gerrard wants
Gerrard has named where the repair job should start. Speaking on The Overlap Daily, as reported by Metro’s Louis Sealey, the former England midfielder answered “100 per cent” when asked whether recruitment must begin in defence. He wants two world-class centre-backs and a world-class left-back, arguing the current group still has to prove itself at the top level.
He called Reece James the country’s best right-back and Emiliano Martinez a fantastic goalkeeper, but held up Ashley Cole, John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho and Branislav Ivanovic, shielded by Claude Makelele or Michael Essien, as the benchmark.
Asked whether Chelsea’s next round of recruitment needs to start with the defence, Gerrard said on The Overlap Daily, sponsored by Sky Bet: ‘100 per cent.
‘Chelsea have good defenders. I really like Reece James when he’s fit and available and he plays right-back. I think he’s the best right-back in the country.
‘I really like Colwill, because he gives them nice balance and the left foot. They’ve got a fantastic goalkeeper now, who I’ve worked with. And I look at the midfield and the front line and think, that can compete. ‘But with all due respect, I think for Chelsea to compete with your Arsenals, Man City’s, Liverpool’s, and the top end of the Champions League, I think they need to find world-class centre-backs and a world-class left-back.
‘That would be my opinion. Can I just relate that to when I played: Ashley Cole, John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Branislav Ivanovic.
‘Now, that’s a back four that can compete and proved that it can compete at the top end of the Premier League and the top end of the Champions League.
‘If I look at Chelsea’s back five now, I go Emiliano Martinez and Petr Cech, okay, not much in it. Martinez has proved he can win a World Cup and really perform at that high level.
‘I think the Chelsea defenders have still got to prove themselves, that they can go and compete at the top end of the Premier League and also the top end of the Champions League.
‘Because that back four that we played against at Chelsea, with Claude Makelele in front or Michael Essien in front, that was some base to a spine. They were top world-class players.
‘I think for Chelsea to go to the next level, they need to recruit that.’
Do Chelsea really need three world-class defenders?
Only half of it. Centre-back is the real problem, because Lacroix is the one proven anchor and he is sidelined, while Colwill’s injury record and Fofana’s inconsistency limit the alternatives. One elite, ball-playing centre-back would transform the group.
The left-back demand is less convincing. In Alonso’s back three, that role is a wing-back, and Pep Chavarria, a 28-year-old signed from Rayo Vallecano for his defensive intensity, already covers it. Sunderland also asked a different question, because Chelsea held most of the ball and created almost nothing against a deep block, as Alonso admitted. Three defenders would solve the lesser problem and leave that one untouched.
