Interview: Florent Malouda

This Sunday is now named 'interviews with the Chelsea legends' day!

We had an exclusive interview (through our man Darko) out with former Chelsea cult hero Ramires today that’s now out on the home page. And although this one is not our exclusive, we now have an interview in full with another hero of the stands at Stamford Bridge, Florent Malouda!

Florent Malouda: Chelsea are ‘paying the price’ with injuries, Garnacho could replicate Palmer impact with Blues and Isak will harm Ekitike’s development

Chelsea are paying the price for injury problems after Club World Cup

“I think that was almost expected because even during the Club World Cup, you had players complaining about the schedule and about the fact that there was almost no recovery after the season.

“The Chelsea team performed well at the tournament, but now they are paying the price.

“This is where the depth of your squad is tested. So we also have to take into consideration the fact that there's going to be a World Cup next year. So for all international players, it will be challenging, a long, exhausting season.

“They must look after themselves, and they must accept also not to play every game to be able to lead the team to trophies, because competition is getting higher, intensity of the game is getting higher and you're always at risk to lose your key players for a lot of games.”

Chelsea’s other players need to step up and match Cole Palmer’s level

“Cole Palmer is the key player. He has proven he has the shoulders for this. Now it's about building his physique to play every game. Every time he's fit, he's an impact player with a big impact on positive results. We definitely need him.

“With Champions League and international football, there will be high demand and strain on him. Other players need to step up and match his level so danger can come from everywhere.

“When we play a team, they almost always try to block Cole Palmer and his impact on the result.”