Salah, De Bruyne, Lukaku... too many good players have left Chelsea, says Gullit

Ruud Gullit is happy to see young players finally get a chance at Chelsea, saying the club has let “too many good players” leave in the past.

The Premier League side have had a shaky start to the season under new coach Frank Lampard, picking up five points from their first four league games of the campaign.

The Blues suffered a 4-0 defeat to Manchester United on the opening day and were held to draws by Leicester and Sheffield United either side of a win over Norwich.

The two-window transfer ban imposed on the club prevented them from adding to their options ahead of the campaign, forcing Lampard to call on young players like Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount to replenish the squad.

Gullit feels the new faith in youth is a big turnaround for the club that saw players like Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah leave because of a lack of first-team opportunities, only to become stars elsewhere.

“I'm glad the young players finally get the chance,” Gullit, who is currently working as a host on football show Streetkings in Jail, told Goal.

“With players like Mo Salah, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, there have been too many good players leaving the club because they got the feeling their time would never come through at Chelsea.”

The former Chelsea and Netherlands star is happy with Chelsea's start to the campaign despite their inconsistency, as he believes club icon Lampard was the ideal choice to replace Maurizio Sarri in the close-season.

"Obviously the results aren't great, but for me it's most important that they show a clear philosophy with some good football," he added. "I'm so glad the youth finally gets the chance, even though it mostly happened because of the transfer ban.

"Now we should be patient. The players have the talent and with Lampard they have their ideal coach. He is a young manager, knows the club and already experienced everything they are feeling right now.

"It's a good squad and I'm positively surprised about their level. They haven't won many games yet, but that's not important right now. It's about young players discovering themselves and showing their capabilities to the crowd.

"Look at Ajax. See what they have done with a young team last season in the Champions League. It's not a bad thing to have young players, as long as they are good enough and Chelsea has a great academy.

"I like the way they play football with Lampard. Now we should be patient and wait until they start winning matches. That's a learning process."