Chelsea would be in a better position now if they had stuck with Thomas Tuchel as their manager, claims ex-Blues manager Glenn Hoddle.
Tuchel was sacked by Chelsea in September 2022 amid a run of poor form after a reported dispute with owner Todd Boehly - with Graham Potter replacing the German but only lasting eight months before he too was axed.
Tuchel's dismissal kicked off a turbulent period for the club under Boehy, with Chelsea suffering some woeful league form and going through a string of poor signings - as Frank Lampard was installed as a interim boss for the rest of the 2022-23 season but being unable to steady the ship.
Mauricio Pochettino took over for the 2023-24 campaign and guided the club to sixth before leaving Stamford Bridge, with Enzo Maresca now tasked with bringing the glory days back to west London.
Hoddle - who played for Chelsea between 1993 and 1995 and also managed the team - believes Boehly made a huge mistake letting go of Tuchel, who was announced as the next England manager this month.
Tuchel won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021 and while Hoddle is happy with how things are progressing under Maresca, he feels things would be even better now if the German was never let go.
"I like him," he said on the Overlap, via Sky Bet. "I’ve spent a bit of time with him and had a few interviews with him and spoke to him after. I like him.
"Look at what he did at Chelsea and what happened to them after he left… He won the Champions League there.
"He should still be there now and they would be in a better state. I think Chelsea are back by the way, I think they’ve got a good chance of getting themselves back there. But they went missing for a while there. If he would have stayed…"
Hoddle, now often seen as a pundit for TNT Sports and Sky, said he was "delighted" that Tuchel was picked as the next England boss despite criticism that the FA didn't go for an English manager - dismissing opposition to his appointment as "rubbish".
His former club Chelsea have enjoyed a solid start to the Premier League season, sitting fifth in the table after five wins, two draws and two losses under Maresca.