Roy Keane is doing Sky Sports’ coverage of Chelsea’s massive game against Liverpool this afternoon, and he had some very interesting thoughts on the Blues’ weaknesses at the moment as well as their plans for the summer.
In the light of the rumoured interest Chelsea had in bringing in Reds defender Virgil Van Dijk this summer, Keane made it clear that it was a move he thought would have helped the Blues – but one they never would have made given their policy of signing almost exclusively young players with resale value.
Van Dijk would be perfect signing for Chelsea’s spine
“When you have young players like that you have that inconsistency. The policy of the club here is that they are buying players, they’re buying young players. They’re not going to be spending £50m or £60m or a 30 or 31 year old,” Keane said.
“So that’s the balance [Maresca’s] got to get right. And that’s what you get with young players. You get inconsistency. And that’s where they probably do lack, in the spine of the team, the two centre halves, someone with that experience, but there’s not many out there. If Chelsea come up short this year in terms of reaching the Champions League, that will be an area, I guarantee the manager will be looking this summer.”
You can see the former Man U midfielder speaking in the clip embedded here:
🗣️ "That's probably costing them this year"
Roy Keane says Chelsea have to get the balance right between youth and experience ⚖️ pic.twitter.com/DLC2T25VcE
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 4, 2025
Chelsea’s Van Dijk push appears fugazi
Despite the rumours, we never really believed that Chelsea were keen on signing Van Dijk, they just wanted it put out there that they can considered it. It seems Keane is as sceptical as we are.
“The problem is, if you want experienced players who are maybe in their late 20s or early 30s and know the league, they’re going to cost money. And I don’t think Chelsea will be forking out fortunes unless players like Van Dijk are available on a free and they give them crazy wages.
