William Gallas worries that Chelsea overpaid for the signing of Estevao Wilian, a teenage star from Brazil.
The attacker for Palmeiras will stay with his childhood club for another year, as the Blues beat out many other prominent European teams for his services.
Since Roman Abramovich was replaced by Todd Boehly and his Clearlake consortium, Chelsea has made significant investments in young South American players, but they believe Estevao will be the crown gem.
On the other hand, Gallas feels that his previous team overpaid for a guy who has made very few senior matches.
’The issue with him might be that sometimes clubs think players can adapt straight away to a new league but it doesn’t work like that.
’There are too many obstacles like the language, lifestyle, even the weather. When you come to England it’s not easy so you have to think about that when signing new players.
‘Just because you pay so much money it doesn’t mean that they don’t need time to adapt.’
The days of signing readymade superstars appear to be over at Stamford Bridge, with the new-look recruitment team channeling their efforts into signing young, up and coming talent.
Gallas, however, believes Chelsea have missed an opportunity to rescue Neymar from Saudi Arabia after he signed for Al Hilal last year where he made just three appearances before succumbing to a serious injury.
Gallas added: ‘If I had the money I would’ve preferred to spend it on a player like Neymar. Someone with experience who will know how to adapt very quickly, it’s harder for young players.
’You can say that the money is an investment for the future but the Premier League is much tougher than La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A and even the Bundesliga, it’s far more physical.
’It can be hard for players, even for Neymar. Because Neymar needs space and he also needs rest, playing every three games can be really intense.
’But it would be good to see him in the Premier League and fans will love him too, I’m not sure if he could work with Mikel Arteta at Arsenal but Neymar to Chelsea, why not?’