Claude Makelele urges Chelsea fans to give owners and new players time

Former Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele believes the Blues are on the right path and has urged supporters to give both the board and the new players time.

A consortium led by LA Dodgers part owner Todd Boehly purchased the Premier League club from Roman Abramovich last year after the Russian was forced to sell for alleged links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The group quickly flexed their financial muscle by spending more than half-a-billion euros over the past two transfer windows on new players.

Despite the huge layout, Chelsea are left with an outsize squad sheared of a prolific centre-forward which has been reflected in performances and results. They are the league's joint-fourth lowest scorers (34) but boast the joint-third best defensive record (39 conceded).

Instead of challenging for a Champions League spot, Chelsea find themselves in the bottom half of the Premier League with no chance of even qualifying for the Europa League.

In fact, 11th-placed Chelsea are closer in points to relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest (33 points), their opponents in the league on Saturday, than they are to Manchester United in the fourth Champions League spot. They were eliminated from this season's Champions League 4-0 on aggregate by Real Madrid in the quarter-finals and faired badly in domestic cup competitions too.

Frank Lampard has been tasked with overseeing the first-team until the end of the season after the West London club sacked previous manager Graham Potter after only 31 games in charge. Potter had replaced Chelsea's Champions League-winning coach Thomas Tuchel after the German was axed in September.

Former Chelsea and France midfielder Claude Makelele attends a media interview ahead of the 2023 Laureus