Chelsea lack leaders on the pitch and in the dressing room right now, I don’t think that can really be debated.
Whilst we will never see the sort of leadership we used to see at the club when the likes of John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, and Didier Drogba were all on the pitch at the same time alongside other leaders such as Michael Ballack, Petr Cech, and Michael Essien, Chelsea do certainly lack anything really close to those profiles.
Sources: Key Chelsea manager updates and plans to interview candidates!
Of course, football has changed, and these types of personalities are rare in today’s game unfortunately.
But The Athletic have highlighted the absence being missed at Chelsea right now of one player who probably could be put in that category, Antonio Rudiger.
Rudiger faces his old club Chelsea for Real Madrid in the Champions League tonight, and the report says his profile and mentality is missed at Chelsea.
“Toni has been sorely missed this season, he was a real character around the place,” a source close to one of the senior players, speaking anonymously to The Athletic in order to protect relationships, said. “He was a top guy, a great guy to have in the dressing room. Lots of the players looked up to him.
“He was a great character, a winner, a leader. He was the kind of guy who kept the standards high at training,” the source continued. “He was John Terry-esque. It was a massive blow, a huge loss. It was not just his football ability — it was the desire he showed, the leadership on and off the pitch. There were a few times where the team were struggling and, at half-time, he would just go in and let rip. (Former coach Thomas) Tuchel would kind of let him off the leash and then would step in to calm it all down.”
