Paul Scholes says Chelsea signing should not be starting in the Premier League

Paul Scholes has questioned Xabi Alonso’s team selection following Chelsea’s 3-0 defeat to Brentford and believes Jordan Henderson should only be handed another Premier League start in an absolute emergency.

Summer signings Henderson, 36, and Danny Welbeck, 35, were both handed their first starts of the top-flight season as Chelsea took on Brentford in search of victory after going two games without a win.

The west London derby – which kicked off the weekend’s action – had looked to be heading for a goalless draw but Jaidon Anthony had other ideas, nodding home from close range to break the deadlock just past the hour-mark.

While the visitors pushed hard for an equaliser, it was Brentford who increased the deficit in the closing stages, with goals from Igor Thiago and Fabio Carvalho putting the game to bed.

The result saw the Blues enter the international break languishing down in seventh place in the table, five points adrift of league leaders Manchester City ahead of their clash with Bournemouth on October 10.

With both players facing boos from Brentford’s home support, Henderson and Valentin Barco looked to be building a promising partnership in midfield right up until Anthony’s opener.

Wesley Fofana, Pedro Neto, Welbeck and Barco were all replaced as the minutes ticked down, but Henderson remained on the pitch until the final whistle against his former club at the Gtech Community Stadium – in what appeared to be a show of faith from Chelsea manager Alonso.

But discussing Chelsea’s loss on The Good, The Bad & The Football, Manchester United legend Scholes felt Alonso was wrong to even start the veteran midfielder in the first place.

‘When I saw Danny Welbeck, Welbz is brilliant, and Jordan Henderson playing in the same team, I thought, “You couldn’t be playing against a worse team”, because Brentford have so much energy about them,’ Scholes explained.

‘They have so much athleticism about them and I thought, “That is the worst thing that could happen to them [Chelsea]!”‘

Asked if Henderson should be deemed a ’45-minute man’, Scholes replied: ‘Maybe not even that long. Maybe a last 20-25 minutes, unless you’re playing League Cup games.

‘Look, we’ve been there. At 35, 36, 37, you’re a million miles away from where you should be.

‘You can use your experience to get through games, of course you can, but I think these days, especially now, it’s more of a young man’s game and you will get found out.

‘You will get found out starting a game.’

Scholes reflected on his own playing days and recalled ‘getting found out’ when thrown in against Manchester City in his latter years with Manchester United.

‘I never expected him to be starting a Premier League game,’ Scholes continued on Henderson.

‘I don’t care how old you are, how much you look after yourself, being at that age and playing in the Premier League now especially, you’ve got to be a machine.

‘You’ve got to be athletic, you don’t get away with it I’m afraid. You get found out.

‘He’ll know it himself. He’ll think, “I shouldn’t really be starting”, I remember I did it against Manchester City when I was 36.

‘The manager actually picked me and I thought, “I shouldn’t be playing this game, I shouldn’t be starting this game… maybe the last 15-20 minutes if it needs calming down a little bit”, and I never got the ball, I never touched the ball.

‘I just knew it was too much for me, I shouldn’t really have been playing.’

Nicky Butt echoed Scholes’ comments about Henderson and suggested the former Liverpool captain would be well aware that he should not be starting Premier League games for Chelsea.

‘I think Jordan will know that as well, 100 per cent he’ll know it,’ the ex-United and England midfielder chimed in.

‘I think it was a good signing by the manager because if you look at the previous year, there were a lot of young lads who looked a bit unstable, not really a team, individuals.

‘Henderson has obviously been brought in to help manage that changing room as well as obviously playing a few minutes in certain games.’

Chelsea will look to get back to winning ways when they return to Premier League action at home to struggling Bournemouth in two-and-a-half weeks’ time.

The Blues came away with a total two points from their two encounters with the Cherries last season, with a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge coming after a goalless stalemate on the south coast.

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