Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Sunderland has resulted in the Blues missing out on European qualification for the 2026-27 campaign which has put a huge dent in their summer transfer plans.
New manager Xabi Alonso will take over a club who have utterly failed this season and will be looking to improve the squad ahead of the new season.
With Enzo Fernandez and Joao Pedro linked with moves away, Cole believes that the best thing Chelsea can do is sign top talent with the experience needed to lead the side to glory. Speaking on how the club do not need to make wholesale changes, Cole explained why experience is necessary.
“And then you bring in your John Stones and Robert Lewandowski and players on a free transfer who don’t need to play every minute of every game, but they understand winning, they understand culture and they can still help out in the pitch and do bits.
“The current players need that, they’ve got it within the group, it can’t be from coaches, all the time.
“All the great teams are coached from within their own dressing room and its knowledge and wisdom passed down over the years.
“It just baffles me how people just don’t understand that. But hopefully, they (the Chelsea owners) have read the room and that’s the way they go now.
“If not, if they don’t, then it’ll be all much of the same. Chelsea will be better next year and they’ll probably say we’re on the way up again. But you once you get back up, you’ll always hit the same ceilings.
“When you get to elite level, you need experience, you need wisdom and you need quality.”
Chelsea may also come under pressure to sell some of their best player now they have missed out on European revenue for next season. However, both Stones and Lewandowski are available for free, making them promising additions to a side that is lacking leadership on the pitch.