Rio Ferdinand has issued a warning to new Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino (Pictures: Getty)

Rio Ferdinand has warned Mauricio Pochettino his Chelsea squad ‘lacks balance’ and is ‘crying out for some midfielders’ as he prepares to take over at Stamford Bridge.

Pochettino starts his tenure in west London next week after agreeing to become the club’s sixth permanent manager in five years at the end of last season.

The former Paris Saint-Germain, Tottenham and Southampton boss takes charge of a team that finished just 12th in the Premier League last term, closer to the relegation zone than the Champions League places.

Despite the fact Pochettino is yet to arrive at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have been busy in the transfer market, unveiling Christopher Nkunku as their latest big-money signing.
Chelsea’s hierarchy have also started trimming a bloated first-team squad, selling Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy.

But Ferdinand believes the outgoings have left Chelsea with an unbalanced squad and says the Blues need to bring in some new midfielders to compensate for the departures.

Chelsea have expressed interest in signing Moises Caicedo from Brighton, having admitted defeat in the race to sign Declan Rice, who is set to join Arsenal in a deal worth more than £100m.

Chelsea have agreed to sell Mason Mount to Manchester United (Picture: Getty)

Ex-Manchester United defender Ferdinand told th...