Chelsea need bring in their own version of Virgil van Dijk, says Frank Leboeuf, with Frank Lampard being urged to land a “big guy” at the back in the summer transfer window.
The Blues have already starting investing heavily on fresh faces, with deals tied up for Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.
There is the promise of more business to come at Stamford Bridge, with Roman Abramovich prepared to bankroll further signings on the back of a top-four finish and Champions League football being secured.
Bayern Leverkusen playmaker Kai Havertz has emerged as a top target for Chelsea, while Leicester left-back Ben Chilwell is another that Lampard has his eye on. Leboeuf, however, believes that the Blues need to be prioritising reinforcements at the heart of their back four.
The World Cup winner is not convinced by the centre-half options currently on the books in west London and believes funds should be made available for a “leader”, with Van Dijk having shown at Liverpool what can be achieved when defensive leaks are plugged.
Former Blues star Leboeuf told ESPN FC on the challenge facing Lampard: “[He needs to improve] all of them. That’s the problem.
“The goalkeeper is a big issue, but you have to go to the main [issue]. If you’re looking at the main issue, it’s the central defenders.
“[Kurt] Zouma is doing great, but I’m not confident about [Antonio] Rudiger, I’m not confident about [Andreas] Christensen. I don’t know what will happen with [Fikayo] Tomori, but I think they need a big guy.
“You saw what happened with Liverpool when they got Van Dijk, he changed everything. Even Lovren and Gomez looked better alongside him.
“You need a big guy to make sure he’ll lead the defence. Look at Ramos. [Raphael] Varane is a fantastic player, but is he still the fantastic player when he plays for France as when he plays for Madrid with Sergio Ramos? He’s better with Real Madrid.
“They need a big guy in the centre of defence, yeah.”
Chelsea were unable to keep their backline bolted in their most recent outing, with a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup final seemingly set to see them end the 2019-20 campaign without major silverware.