"Nowhere near the finished article yet" - Rio Ferdinand blames Chelsea star for his failure to 'smell danger' in 1-0 Dinamo Zagreb loss

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has criticized new Chelsea signing Wesley Fofana for his lack of defensive nous in his team's 1-0 defeat against Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday (September 6).

Fofana joined the Blues from Leicester City for a fee in the region of £75 million last month. The 21-year-old centre-back has now come under fire for his part in Mislav Orsic's decisive goal during his UEFA Champions League debut at the Stadio Maksimir.

Despite dominating the early stages of the contest, the west London outfit were rocked by Orsic's opener in the 13th minute. The Croatian winger headed the ball past Fofana on the counter, ultimately finishing past an on-rushing Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Speaking on BT Sport (via Metro), Ferdinand lambasted Fofana for failing to stop Orsic. He said:

"Fofana can see his partner is going for the ball, what he has to be aware of is the run. Once he sees that, he has to then identify: 'Where is the space? Where do I now cover?' And watch his reaction: it’s so late. He's got to foul him, bump him, whatever, you're last man."

He continued:

"Or, what I would do – and I would back myself like I assume he would – I would have dropped off ages ago. I would have seen that run and there's no way that I'd allow him to get in behind me. He just doesn’t smell danger."

Ferdinand felt that this episode would be a big learning curve for the young defender. He said:

"But listen, it's his first game at this level in the Champions League so you can't really go too hard on him. But it's something that will open his eyes and make him realise he's nowhere near the finished article yet."

Chelsea are currently bottom of Group E in the UEFA Champions League after AC Milan were held 1-1 by Red Bull Salzburg in the other group fixture.

The Blues will next lock horns with London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage in a Premier League contest on Saturday (September 10).

Frank Leboeuf hits out at Chelsea's Mason Mount after 'appalling performance'

Speaking to ESPN, former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf slammed Blues midfielder Mason Mount for his disappointing performance in Tuesday's defeat against Dinamo Zagreb. He said:

"I want to talk about Mason because we never talk about him because he's the little boy from Chelsea. But he disappeared! I'm sorry, Mason disappeared. I want to know where he is."

He added:

"He's fantastic, a great player but his involvement in the game was not enough. That was an appalling performance against a very average team."

Mount is yet to register a goal contribution in seven matches across all competitions for his boyhood club.