Chelsea legend Dennis Wise full of praise for Chelsea’s ‘new look’

Former Chelsea midfielder, captain, legend, Dennis Wise sat down with Goal’s Nizaar Kinsella the other day and answered some questions about the current situation at Chelsea. In his interview, “Wisey” starts off by talking about our new acquisition Jorginho, whom he’s rightfully branded as “absolutely outstanding”.

“I like the boy [Sarri] has brought in, Jorginho, I think he has been absolutely outstanding. I have watched him and how he covered holes, how he pressed and he dictates to his team-mates as he wants them to do certain things. I think by bringing in Jorginho, you bring in someone who knows Sarri very well and how he plays and what he wants to do.

“When you have someone right in the middle of that midfield who understands how the manager plays and dictates that to everyone, I think it is really helpful and he has so much quality as well. I think he has given the ball away once over the whole pre-season. I am actually looking forward to seeing him progress over the course of this season.”

While Jorginho most certainly misplaced more than just a single pass, Wise is spot on. We’ve only had the pleasure of watching Jorginho on a handful of occasions as of yet but the Italian maestro has been playing as if he’s been here for ages already, as a vital cog in the Blues’ machinery.

Wise continues with his praise for Chelsea as he talks about the new head coach Maurizio Sarri, and the positive impact he’s having on both the players and the style of football currently being played at Stamford Bridge.

“I think he had only been with them for 21 days [before the Community Shield game against Man City], so it is a short period that he has been in charge. He has had to change the system from a 3-4-3 to a 4-3-3 now and they have worked on it in an impressive manner [...]. I was impressed with the way they were set up and they haven’t had all their personnel throughout pre-season, so probably the team that starts in each game might not stay the same to begin with.

“It is different from Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, who were more counter-attacking in their football. I think Maurizio wants to play on the front foot. That’s important for him, he wants to press teams high. It is difficult because the work rate, you have to keep up. He did it at Napoli and it worked extremely well, so I am looking forward to actually seeing him do that [here].”

It’s always great to see a former Chelsea player still feel so strongly about the club years after leaving Stamford Bridge and Wisey’s enthusiasm for our future is certainly shared among most of the Chelsea community.

Another thing we share is excitement over golden boy Callum Hudson-Odoi, even if his opportunities have been non-existent since preseason (not unexpected; but he should feature once midweek cup and Europa League games begin).

“I think Hudson-Odoi has been outstanding. I think it is good he has had the opportunity. He is a local boy and I am looking forward to seeing a lot more of him and him competing against players in that position. I think he is capable to go and do it. I think he gave Hector Bellerin a torrid time in Dublin and in his performance against Inter at times.”

-Dennis Wise; source: Goal

Let’s hope Hudson-Odoi does indeed get the chance to keep on destroying opponents in next month’s cup competitions.

Here’s Dennis Wise with Nizaar Kinsella:

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