Chelsea: Appraising Liam Rosenior’s early Chelsea tenure

Chelsea’s performance at Everton was worrying, not least because of the poor body language on display throughout the 90 minutes.

This statement came after vice-captain Enzo Fernandez made a statement to sports channel TUDN. After the joint-record 8-2 defeat against Paris St-Germain: “We have lost a Club World Cup-winning manager who gave us identity, structure and direction, and no-one, not even the players, can understand why.

“Everything changed in the middle of the season. The system collapsed, and stability went with it.”

According to multiple sources close to the players, the comments reflect some of the existing frustration with the poor results.

But Rosenior sought to downplay Fernandez’s comments, saying the midfielder was “determined” and the comments were “misunderstood” following an emotional defeat.

Fernandez’s comments come amid speculation that he could leave in the summer, with Real Madrid and PSG reportedly interested.

Chelsea’s pay structure is linked to performance and almost every member of the squad faces a pay cut if the club fails to qualify for the Champions League.

This is understood to be a cause for concern for some players, such as Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, who are looking for better deals.

Although Chelsea preferred to wait until the end of the season to review their contract situation, they rewarded captain Reece James with a new contract last week.