Former Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas says they must keep hold of Benoit Badiashile.

Cesc played with the defender at AS Monaco.

"They've had injuries, obviously, I think they went for physicality – they have very, very strong, fast players," Fabregas told the Planet Premier League podcast. "They're looking for the future and it's something we need to understand and we need to take into consideration.

"But Chelsea demands results now, today, no matter what, also I think they have a responsibility for the fans, for the history over the last 20, 25 years, to achieve some success. It's not happening at the moment.

"I do think Mauricio is a really good coach but, yeah, it still feels like they haven't found their eleven, they still haven't found their best formation, or the one that suits best the players they've got at the moment. Let's not get away from the point that there's a lot of quality.

"Yes, there's physicality, yes, they went for speed, they went for strength but they do have a lot of quality in midfield. [Moises] Caicedo was a top player for Brighton, he was one of the best young players at the World Cup, [Enzo] Fernandez.

"[Raheem] Sterling, nothing to be said, [Cole] Palmer, really, really top talent, [Christopher] Nkunku, when he gets fits, he was flying in the Bundesliga," Fabregas added. "I played with [Axel] Disasi and Badiashile, Badiashile is one of the best ball-playing centre-backs, young players in Europe.

"So there is a lot of quality, a lot of talent but they do need to find their best shape. It's not all about tactics but they do need to fit their best players in their best positions and I don't think they've found that yet."