In our exclusive interview, the ex-Chelsea and Everton winger discusses his former clubs’ transfer business, and a potential switch to Scotland for Jose Mourinho.
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What do you think of Chelsea’s summer transfer window? Are there any areas they might still be looking to strengthen?
To be fair, I think Chelsea have done very well with getting the players that they wanted to get.
If you get Joao Pedro and Liam Delap, then that’s pretty good business in attack.
Of course, Delap gets injured, and it looks like he’s going to be out for a while. It happens to a lot of teams, and it’ll probably happen to Chelsea more than most this season because they didn’t have a close-season.
Chelsea only had two games to prep over three days, which is madness when you think about it.
But they’ve tried to get as strong a squad as they possibly can, and I think Joao Pedro looks like a very good signing. Delap is a good decision, but injuries happen, and they’ve got Marc Guiu back in the mix.
The only issue for Chelsea is they’ll have to cope until possibly January, or until Delap is back which means they may have to think outside the box.
Chelsea could use a false nine; Pedro Neto has played that role before, and it works well enough. Attacking-wise, they’ve been unlucky, but I believe they’re fine.
Defensively, I certainly think that Levi Colwill will be the main man once he’s fit again.
There’s Trevoh Chalobah, who’s doing a great job. It’s strange because they seem to want to get rid of him, but he’s playing well.
Tosin Adarabioyo, Wesley Fofana, Josh Acheampong, and Jarrel Hato who all look like good options when they come into the team.
I think Chelsea’s issue at the back is, have they got a classic pairing yet?
That’s the only question mark about Chelsea’s defence, but aside from questions about the centre of defence and up front, there are no issues because Chelsea have cover everywhere.
Chelsea look really strong this season.
What did you make of the Nicolas Jackson transfer saga?
It’s a tricky situation, and I feel like I need to be honest about what happened.
From Nicolas Jackson’s point of view, I completely understand it. However, from my own view as a former player, I believe a contract is a contract.
If you’ve agreed a contract with a club and they’re paying your wages, then you do the job and you agree to do that.
If you’re sold or you come to an agreement, then fine you move on.
But, and it’s a big but, Chelsea weren’t interested in keeping Jackson this summer, and it was obvious that he was going to be sold.
Chelsea knew they would get a decent profit for him, and he was completely kicked out of the plans after being the main man last season.
You can understand his frustrations, but then a club like Bayern Munich come in for you.
I totally understand his anger because that’s an opportunity that might not come back around.
Bayern Munich is an opportunity of a lifetime, and because Chelsea had an injury problem, Jackson probably felt he was being used.
In reality, I probably wouldn’t have done what Jackson did, but I don’t actually blame him for his actions.
I don’t think Chelsea fans will be that annoyed with him either. It didn’t go well for him towards the end.
He looked like he could be someone who was spectacular because of his pace. He’s a decent finisher, although he needs a few chances to score.
Everything was there for him to be a top player, but it just didn’t happen for him at that elite level.
Then he gets sent off against Newcastle and Flamengo, so you start to think, is this working out?
If I’m honest, I think Joao Pedro is an upgrade and to a certain degree so is Delap.
If you’re getting over £70 million for a player who cost Chelsea £32 million, then it’s a profit for the club and a good bit of business.
Once Delap’s injury clears up, Chelsea will find themselves in a much stronger position.
Could Jackson be reintegrated into Chelsea’s squad if Bayern don’t sign him outright?
I don’t think it is as bad as the situation got with Alexander Isak at Newcastle because this was a short and angry response to something that happened within the week.
We all thought he was going to Bayern Munich, then all of a sudden he’s being asked to come back. These things can happen in football.
Time heals, and you never know in a year how much things can change. Jackson’s Bayern move might not work out, and he has to come back.
I think Chelsea would see him as someone who is usable, but also sellable if it comes to it.
I don’t see him being a main part of Chelsea FC going forward though, regardless of what happens at Bayern.
That won’t be just from Chelsea’s side either; it’ll be from Jackson’s side as well.
I suppose it’s a situation that you worry about when the time comes, but for Chelsea, the perfect scenario would be for him to join Bayern on a permanent basis.
Chelsea are very good in the transfer market; they’ve proven that they’re good at selling assets that aren’t necessarily wanted at the club.
The only issue you can see is if he gets injured and Bayern send him back because he signed an eight-year contract.
That’s always going to be the issue with Chelsea’s model; if it doesn’t work or if their attitude changes, then they can just decide to sit there on this contract.
It can happen, so you need to be wary of that, but hopefully it won’t be the case with Jackson.
In reality I think he’ll do ok at Bayern, and there will be some sort of agreement at the end of the loan.
How do you think Marc Guiu is feeling at the moment?
He must be quite gutted, actually, because I’ve been to see Sunderland this season and they look like a really exciting side.
It’s a young team, and for Guiu, it was a huge opportunity to get some games under his belt.
He would have played a big part rather than coming off the bench or starting in less meaningful games, so I do think he’ll be gutted with how it’s worked out.
On the other hand, he’s a Chelsea player, and he understands that he is still a young player developing.
From talking to people at Chelsea, they really rate him highly and that he will come good for this football club.
They thought the move to Sunderland would be great for him and for his development to build up some Premier League experience.
Chelsea have done it a lot over the years, and I think the club would have explained that to him in terms of his pathway to the first team.
It might feel like he’s been messed about, but he will know that he is a Chelsea man.
They have big hopes for him, and there’s a lot of belief that he can do it, so in fact, there’s an opportunity for him to come back and impress.
Chelsea’s transfer strategy often focuses on identifying value and long-term potential rather than competing in high-fee bidding wars. How might this approach position them in the race for major titles, especially as other clubs invest heavily in players like Isak, Gyokeres, and Wirtz?
At the end of the day, this is Chelsea’s method, and they won’t buy players without a potential resale value.
Viktor Gyokeres is someone who Chelsea wouldn’t touch, purely because he’s 27. It’s just the way it is.
They’re right in saying these types of players won’t have the same value as when they’re signed in a few years.
It’s happened with plenty of clubs in the past where they’ve spent big on a player, and when it doesn’t work out, there’s no resale.
Chelsea don’t like that. That’s not the model, so Gyokeres as an example wouldn’t be a player signed by Chelsea. If he were much cheaper, then they may have considered it.
Isak is someone I could have seen Chelsea potentially going for, but if you’re spending £135 million, you’re not making a profit if you sell in four years.
Isak would do the job for you, but Chelsea don’t look at it that way.
The club have brought Joao Pedro in for half the price of Isak. Is Isak really twice the player that Joao Pedro is? I don’t think so.
He’s a fabulous player; he’s probably better than Joao Pedro at the moment, but if you’re looking at smart money, then Chelsea has got the better deal.
Chelsea would have made back that Joao Pedro money from the sales they’ve made this summer and from the Club World Cup as well.
The model looks alright to me. Don’t get me wrong, Chelsea have spent a lot of money, but they’ve recouped that money as well.
Chelsea are right amongst the top when it comes to spending over the past few years, but they would say they’ve been sensible.
They’re back in the Champions League, they’ve won the Club World Cup, so actually, you can see the model is working.
Some of the players they’ve brought in are great value. Estevao might be the best value of the lot.
He’s only a kid, but he looks like a brilliant footballer. If he’s this good now, you can only imagine how good he’ll be if he keeps on improving.
So, the way Chelsea look at it is, do we go for this talented 18-year-old or go out and sign Florian Wirtz for £100+ million?
You’ll only know in three or four years who was right, but I think it’s a close call from what I’ve seen.
Have there been any player departures this summer that you think could prove significant for Chelsea?
Well, it would be a case of going through them.
Christopher Nkunku, no. They’ve looked at him, tried him, and it simply isn’t happening for him at Chelsea, so they moved him on. Even if he does well at AC Milan, it didn’t happen at Chelsea, so I don’t think he’ll be missed.
Jackson, as I’ve said before, I believe Chelsea have upgraded on him, so that’s another no.
Armando Broja, maybe in time, could become a good Premier League player, but if I look at him and Delap, then I would rather have Delap.
The two that I would wonder about is Noni Madueke and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
But in Madueke’s case, Chelsea managed to get over £50 million for him, so that’s big money for a player where Chelsea are stacked in that position.
Chelsea made a profit on him as well, so it’s a good deal, but I suspect he will do very well at Arsenal.
I don’t think the fans will be too bothered that he went, but he’s someone that I did rate highly.
Dewsbury-Hall is someone I really rate. He’s a fabulous player, but with my other hat on, I couldn’t be happier that he went to Everton.
I think it was best for all concerned, and again it was another good sell from Chelsea.
To be honest, you look at all the sales and there’s no standout to anyone who might be a regret in the future on Chelsea’s part.
A classic example is Renato Veiga, they bought him for around £11 million. He didn’t do much, played in a few positions, and was sold for £26 million.
The market is mad, and Chelsea are making a profit on players who didn’t really set the world alight.
Yes, Chelsea sold Mo Salah and Kevin de Bruyne many years ago, so it can happen when it comes back to bite you.
But from the players who left this summer, I don’t see it.
How do you sum up Celtic’s transfer window and what were their biggest mistakes?
In a word, slow. I think Brendan Rodgers would be the first to tell you that as well.
Kieran Tierney is a great buy, but that’s not where we’re looking with Celtic. It’s further up the pitch where the issues are.
Celtic lost Nicolas Kuhn, Kyogo went in January, and Jota is injured, so you’re looking at it as most of the creativity has left.
Daizen Maeda is a good player for Celtic, but if you’re talking pure creativity, then it’s mostly gone.
Adam Idah leaving as well. Now he wasn’t doing brilliantly, I would say he was doing ok, nothing special, but that was a lot to lose.
You have to look at what has been brought in and when it was brought in.
First of all, if you were going to bring players in, you had to do it to get you into the Champions League. It wasn’t done; the business was far too late.
Benjamin Nygren, I’ve watched a bit of him and he looks ok, but is he as good as what have left? Probably not.
Shin Yamada, it’s far too early to tell, and Michel-Ange Balikwisha didn’t look great in his first game, although in fairness, nobody looked great in that one.
It was a rotten game for an Old Firm; there was no real quality, so it’s harsh to judge just off that sample.
Kelechi Iheanacho might help Celtic because they need a natural goal scorer, and Celtic do usually create chances.
There are others where it’s far too early to tell, so it’s been a disappointing window.
I think the biggest question for Celtic is why did it take you so long? It’s tough on the Celtic fans. Celtic are not a poor club; they’ve got the money there to spend.
It may not have been spent wisely in the past which I think is the only reason I can think of for the ownership holding back.
Back in the days of Ange Postecoglou, there were getting in players who did or have done a phenomenal job for Celtic.
I’m not sure it’s working quite as well at the moment, so we’ll have to wait and see if that changes.
I don’t think the Celtic fans are massively excited from what’s come in.
Having said that, they’ll still be first or second in the league this season, and they’ll look forward to the Europa League this season.
If we’re going to be honest about it, I was covering the Champions League playoffs for the BBC on the highlights programme.
As a Scottish player trying to explain Scottish football to an English person, and then you have Celtic drawing 0-0 Kairat from Kazakhstan over two games and extra-time.
Then Rangers are getting beaten 9-1 by Club Brugge on aggregate, so it was utter torture to watch.
I have to be honest, it was awful for both teams.
In reality, whatever the pain was for Celtic and Rangers on the night, they’ve probably dodged a bullet.
Yeah, they might have had some money to strengthen, but they might have got a hammering from some teams in the Champions League if they both played to that standard in the playoffs.
Rangers spent more on two strikers than Celtic did the entire summer. How many Rangers players would get into Celtic’s starting XI?
I think Youssef Chermiti is one where you wouldn’t have been surprised if he was signed by Celtic.
He didn’t set the world alight at Everton, but he might do the business up in Scotland, and I suspect he’ll do ok.
I don’t know how much more than ok, but there’s potential there.
I like the look of Djeidi Gassama. I think he’s made a great start to life at Rangers at a time when others have looked terrible around him.
Jayden Meghoma is another I like. He’s young, but he looks like a player who can grow.
Rangers have a problem at centre-back, so the signing of Derek Cornelius could be a good thing for them.
Chermiti and Bojan Miovski are probably the two standouts though. Miovski was probably the standout from the Old Firm for either side.
Rangers have had a stinker of a start to the season if we’re being honest. They’ve drawn four league games and been dumped out the Champions League 9-1 by a team who aren’t even a top side in Europe.
The ownership is sticking by the manager, and it doesn’t seem like the fans are happy at all.
I was at the Old Firm. The Rangers fans were applauding their players for the fight they showed in order to come away with a point, but when Russell Martin appeared, it quickly changed to boos, which isn’t a good sign for him.
The fans haven’t forgiven him for the Champions League campaign, it seems, but I don’t think they should be as depressed as they feel right now.
I believe there is an improvement coming at Rangers, but whether it’s enough to catch up with Celtic, I don’t know.
But I think there’s some hope there.
With Iheanacho arriving shortly after the deadline, how do you think things are with Brendan Rodgers and the board after it was insisted that Adam Idah would not be sold?
I think the board and Brendan Rodgers are in disagreement over what the club should be doing in the transfer market, and when they should be doing it.
Brendan isn’t hiding that; he’s been very open to the situation, and he has to come out and say that in my opinion.
Brendan has to say this isn’t what I was expecting. He’s built this team, and last year they were taking on Bayern Munich head-to-head.
Celtic were within a minute of going into extra time to beat Bayern.
I was at the Allianz that night, and Brendan fully expected the team to kick on from that point.
You’d expect backing when you get the team into the Champions League and performing pretty admirably most of the time.
He’s certainly put the pressure on the board because he’s not been able to do what he wanted to do in the summer.
With my board hat on, I would possibly say that some of the transfers brought in haven’t exactly done great.
Idah wasn’t all that brilliant, although Celtic have managed to sell him for some money.
So, the board will be thinking, do they want to invest in a player who won’t do that well?
This isn’t England. You can’t just go out there and spend £50 million on a player. That could destroy you as a club in Scotland, so money has to be considered correctly.
There’s a problem coming at Celtic. Brendan has a year left on his contract, and he’s made it clear that he didn’t get what he wanted in the summer.
Loggerheads might be a way of describing it, but the board and Brendan certainly don’t have the same vision at the moment.
When that’s the case, you wouldn’t be surprised if someone else was at the helm at Celtic next season.
It’ll be a mutual agreement, but we’ll see because there’s a long time until we’re at that point.
I think Brendan would like to walk away with his head held high and a few more trophies under his belt.
Jose Mourinho is now available and has been linked with a move to Scotland in the past. Could you see that ever happening and what would Jose bring to the division?
I can’t see or understand the finances of it ever happening. When was the last time Jose took on a club who wouldn’t have a lot of money.
Even at Fenerbahçe, there was a budget. In Italy, Spain and England, he’s always had financial backing.
To go somewhere with limited backing and limited funds, you’re falling back on pure coaching, which is a tough gig.
I could just about see it at Rangers, but I couldn’t see it at Celtic.
There’s history there between Jose and Celtic from when his Porto side beat them in Sevilla.
It wasn’t the fact that they beat Celtic in a European final, but the manner of it.
There was a lot of feigning of injury and gamesmanship that day, so they’ve not forgotten.
It would be a tricky starting point for Jose.
What I would say is I would love to see it happen. I would love to see Jose in the powder keg that is Glasgow.
I don’t think it would faze him because he’s been a part of big rivalries in the past with Real Madrid and Barcelona.
He’s been in Turkey with the likes of Besiktas and Galatasaray. There’s hatred and madness there, so he’d be able to cope.
It’s whether Scottish football could cope with him stirring the pot.
As someone who works as a journalist and pundit now, I like the storyline, and I would love to see the mayhem.
But I don’t think it would happen.
Everton have responded well to that defeat at Leeds, how far can David Moyes take this current squad following the signings over the past few weeks?
One thing to remember is to look at how Everton did last season after David Moyes came in.
If you took a league table from the day Moyes came in, you’d be staggered where Everton would have finished.
He’s done an amazing job since coming back to the club. They were looking like relegation fodder, and they ended up cruising to safety.
I’ll hold my hand up and admit I’m biased. I think Moyes is a brilliant manager, and he just so happens to be a mate.
But I’ve never changed my attitude towards him, even when he was being slated from his Manchester United days; he is a top manager who gets the best out of what he’s got, which is all you can possibly do.
However, this isn’t very David Moyes the way Everton are playing. This is the David Moyes that he’s always wanted to be.
He’s achieved everything else, he knows he can be a pragmatic manager, and he might have thought I’m going for it.
Instead of Everton bringing in more defenders or a defensive-minded midfielder, he’s gone in for the likes of Tyler Dibling and Jack Grealish.
Dewsbury-Hall you can throw into the mix, and with Iliman Ndiaye playing week in, week out. Everton have a lot of creativity in that area.
That’s the kind of player I love watching, and I know the Everton fans will enjoy watching this style of football.
But boring old football people know you’ve got to do the other side of the game as well.
Jarred Branthwaite needs to come back quickly because Everton badly misses him, and I’m not sure the powers there in central midfield.
Beto is looking alright, he works hard for the team, but he’ll never be a 30-goal-a-season striker.
There’s probably a problem at fullback as well. If Vitalii Mykolenko is injured, then there’s mixing and matching.
They’ve brought in Adam Aznou, but he looks raw and too young right now. The Premier League eats up players who aren’t ready for this league.
They’ve got a lot of physicality at the back with the central defenders, and Beto isn’t small either.
So, put it all together, he’s got creativity in the attacking third of the pitch, and physicality at the back.
And that physicality works for attacking set pieces, so there are lots of bits to the jigsaw.
I’m pretty excited about it. I went down to the first game at the new stadium, and it was magic.
Although the score line could have been 5-2 to Brighton with the chances they missed, it was a big result for Everton to make a good start in their new home ground.
It gave the players such a lift on the day, and I think the Everton fans will have to play a huge part in that this season because the players will need it at times.
Looking at the summer business, they’ve done really well and brought in some very good players.
Dewsbury-Hall is a fabulous player. Dibling has the potential to be an England regular, and then you have Grealish, who is a match-winner.
That’s without mentioning Charly Alcaraz as well, but I hope that Everton addresses centre-midfield eventually, whether it be in January or next summer.
