Chelsea's Recruitment Issues: Rooney's Critique of Boehly and Eghbali

Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have grown used to the glare. Since their takeover, almost every misstep at Chelsea has been traced back to the boardroom, but few critics have gone at the club’s recruitment quite as bluntly as Wayne Rooney.

On his BBC podcast, the Manchester United great zeroed in on what he sees as the root of Chelsea’s domestic slide: a squad built on odd decisions and lopsided thinking.

“I think Chelsea will have to sell some players because they’ve got a big squad and have made some very strange signings,” Rooney said, before homing in on one particular chain of deals that still baffles him. “Selling [Noni] Madueke to Arsenal and signing Gittens, I just didn’t get that, I didn’t understand it. I never got the signing of Garnacho, so there’s been some very strange signings.”

Madueke thriving, Gittens floundering

The contrast could hardly be sharper.

Since crossing London to join Arsenal, Madueke has erupted into the player Chelsea thought they were grooming. At the Emirates he has helped drive Mikel Arteta’s side to the brink of a Premier League title and into a Champions League final, a winger transformed into a weapon on the biggest stages.

Chelsea, meanwhile, handed the vacancy on their flank to Gittens. The expectation was clear: raw but electric, a high-profile attacking addition who would explode at Stamford Bridge.

It has not happened.

Signed for £52 million to plug the gap left by Madueke, Gittens has produced just one goal in 27 appearances. One. For a club desperate for end product, that return has become a symbol of a wider problem: potential stacked on potential, with precious little proven cutting edge.

The lack of productivity has turned into a stick for critics to swing at the club’s hierarchy, who are accused of chasing upside rather than balance. The result is a first-team group long on promise but short on killers in the final third.

Garnacho move under the microscope

Rooney did not stop with Gittens. The arrival of Alejandro Garnacho from his former club, Manchester United, left him equally unconvinced.

Despite the noise that followed the Argentine international to west London, the reality has been far more subdued. Garnacho, so often a livewire at Old Trafford, has struggled to light up Stamford Bridge in the same way.

The spark that made him a fan favourite in Manchester has flickered in blue. One Premier League goal from a £40m signing has inevitably sharpened the questions: is he the right profile for this project, at this time, in this squad?

Supporters’ patience has thinned. The transfer was supposed to deliver instant impact; instead, it has fed into a sense of drift. For Rooney, the issue is no longer just about individuals, but about the entire direction of squad building.

“There’s players there they need to get rid of to get some more experience in and help the young players,” he said, cutting to the heart of what many in the stands now feel. Too many prospects, not enough leaders.

Alonso changes the equation

Yet amid the criticism, Rooney sees a possible turning point.

The appointment of Xabi Alonso on a four-year deal, crucially with the title of manager rather than head coach, marks a clear shift in power. Words matter in football clubs, and that one word signals that Alonso is being handed more than just the training pitch.

It hints at influence over recruitment. It hints at a voice that will demand ready-made senior players, not just the next big thing.

Rooney likes that direction. “I like the fact Alonso has been announced as manager and not head coach,” he said. For him, that subtle distinction could be the key to unlocking Chelsea’s potential rather than endlessly rearranging it.

He remains bullish about the talent already in the building. Chelsea, in his view, are not short of ability; they are short of the right signings around it. Get the summer window right, reshape the dressing room with experience and authority, and he believes they can climb quickly.

“They’ve got some very talented players so if they get the signings right in the summer I actually think they could be up there challenging for the title. The players will want to play for him because he’s got aura about him.”

Aura, of course, does not score goals or pick passes on a wet night in November. But in a club searching for clarity after a string of “very strange signings”, a manager with presence, power and a clear idea might just be the starting point for Chelsea’s next serious title push.