Guardiola, Simeone and Hiddink all agree: Chelsea need massive squad overhaul

Guus Hiddink is back and but only on a temporary basis.  Before the dawn of the new season in August, we will once again bring about a managerial change, probably of a relatively less temporary nature.  Though with Chelsea, you never know.

Hiddink's mandate, if reports are to be believed, is to "dramatically" improve Chelsea's form, as well as provide a blueprint about the changes needed to rebuild the squad.

"There is a lot of work to be done for the near future. The team is not in a great state, the squad is ready for rebuilding. So in this coming period it is also about working towards the future."

"I need to have a complete review and insight into the club and once I have that, measures need to be taken."

-Guus Hiddink; source: Mirror

Hiddink's assessment is not altogether different from what other leading candidates for the permanent Chelsea may have claimed in recent days.  If rumors are to be believed, the two managers highest on Roman Abramovich's wishlist are Diego Simeone and Pep Guardiola. The latter, when sounded out for the Chelsea job, apparently responded that the club needed to make major changes, and that we need as many as "10 new players" to improve our plight.

Similarly, it has been reported that Simeone is, in fact, keen on taking over the reins at Stamford Bridge, but believes that a "huge overhaul" of the squad would be required, along with assurances on the club's transfer policy.  Simeone was asked about the Chelsea job earlier today and he responded with a "no comment", which could mean anything and everything and nothing.

More immediately, we might need to make a January signing or two to help out our new interim manager and achieve a more promising league position.  There are a lot of teams between us and 4th place, but only 11 points.  Hiddink was magic during his first interim spell, but that was a long time ago an with a much better performing squad.  Reinforcements might be needed right now, before all hope is lost once again.

According to recent rumors, one such reinforcement could be the flavour of the (last 4) month(s) and Premier League top-scorer, Jamie Vardy, who is now our 'number one' target for the upcoming window. Apparently, Michael Emenalo recommended the signing of Vardy to Mourinho, who wasn't as keen on the player, because he believed that Vardy wasn't suited to his style of play.  At 29 years old, Vardy however is hardly a wise investment (it's not like Leicester City are desperate to sell), so perhaps Hiddink will put his foot down, too.

In any case, it sounds probable that there will be plenty of selling and buying in the upcoming months.  Which does raise the question of just why Mourinho had to go, if we also are realizing that the squad is no longer good enough, having apparently all fallen off a cliff at the same time to become highly mediocre players.  But what's done is done.  Ideally, we identify the next manager and make our next purchases with his input in mind as well.