Thiago Silva, the Chelsea defender, was accused of “not getting along with other Blues stars.”
The Brazilian, who joined as a free agent from PSG over the summer, was seen as the man with his title-winning experience in France to pull the Blues’ defense into shape.
But this has not proven to be the case in recent matches, with Frank Lampard’s side winning just two of their last eight Premier League games.
And the centre-back was part of every game except last month’s 1-1 draw against Aston Villa.
It has seen former top-flight defender Amad Faye say that behind the scenes there may be issues for Silva.
The former Newcastle, Leeds and Stoke player told Africa Foot United: “For Chelsea, there is a big problem there.”
There is a sense that Thiago Silva and the others are not getting along. Plus, Lampard is always changing his squad.’
Silva was attempting to marshal the defence in front of Edouard Mendy, who also arrived from Ligue 1 side Rennes for £ 22 million over the summer.
For all of those games, the Senegalese international was between the posts – and he was encouraged to connect with his experienced centre-back.
“Faye added: “For Mendy, there’s no problem. He hasn’t made many errors like that.
“I was concerned about his death, but it’s all going well for him for now. Compared with his predecessor, he’s doing well.
It’s true he’s setting goals that I think are common for a keeper, but he’s also making five, six saves. Unfortunately, he isn’t helped by his defenders.
For me, Mendy’s only concern is that he’s not talking. He has to open his mouth to talk to his defenders who are doing insane stuff. For a goalkeeper, he’s too timid, which isn’t natural.