Chelsea: Assessing Liam Rosenior’s early Chelsea tenure

Chelsea’s performance at Everton was worrying, particularly due to the poor body language displayed throughout most of the 90 minutes.

This came after vice-captain Enzo Fernandez told TUDN Sports After the 8-2 aggregate defeat to Paris Saint-Germain: “We have lost a coach who gave us identity, structure and direction – a Club World Cup winner – and no one, not even the players, understands why.

“In the middle of the season everything changed. The system collapsed and stability went with it.”

According to several sources close to the players, the comments reflect some current frustration over the poor results.

However, Rosenior sought to play down Fernandes’ comments, saying the midfielder was “committed” and that the comments had been “misunderstood” following the emotional defeat.

Fernandes’ comments come amid speculation that he could leave in the summer, with reports of interest from Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

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

This is understandably a concern for some players such as Fernandes and Moises Caicedo, who have been seeking better deals.

Chelsea prefers to wait until the end of the season to review the contract situation, although they rewarded captain Reece James with a new deal last week.