Chelsea legend Joe Cole has called on the club to pursue free-transfer signings of Robert Lewandowski and John Stones, arguing that experienced figures are exactly what Xabi Alonso's young squad needs to build a genuine winning culture.

Speaking on Chelsea's official website, Cole — a former England international — said the priority for the club should be bringing in players who carry hard-earned knowledge of what it takes to win at the highest level, rather than spending heavily on more unproven talent.

"You bring in your John Stones and Robert Lewandowski and players on a free transfer who don't need to play every minute of every game, but they understand winning, they understand culture and they can still help out on the pitch and do bits," Cole said.

Coaching from within the dressing room

Cole stressed that the kind of leadership Chelsea are missing cannot be delivered by the coaching staff alone. He argued that the greatest teams in football history have always been guided from within the dressing room itself, with knowledge and wisdom passed between players across generations.

"All the great teams are coached from within their own dressing room and its knowledge and wisdom passed down over the years. It just baffles me how people just don't understand that," he said.

Cole expressed hope that Chelsea's ownership group has recognised the need for this shift, adding a pointed warning for those who believe the club can simply keep spending its way to the top without addressing the culture inside the squad.

A familiar ceiling without change

The former winger warned that without meaningful change, Chelsea risk repeating the same cycle — improving enough to generate optimism before hitting the same barriers at elite level.

"If they don't, then it'll be all much of the same. Chelsea will be better next year and they'll probably say we're on the way up again. But once you get back up, you'll always hit the same ceilings. When you get to elite level, you need experience, you need wisdom and you need quality," Cole added.

Chelsea's financial flexibility could also be constrained by their absence from European competition next season, which may force the club to sell key players to balance the books before pursuing any new arrivals.