KUALA LUMPUR – A squad as talented as Chelsea’s must finish in the Champions League positions this season as a minimum , said club legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink .

And the former Blues ace is backing the team to underline that potential by bouncing back from a tough week when they host a fractured Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Oct 31.

“If you are a Chelsea player, or associated with Chelsea, you have to be in the Champions League,” Hasselbaink told The Straits Times on Oct 30. “Especially after (missing out on qualification) last year. And they have the squad for it.”

The current Blues side are a work in progress under new manager Xabi Alonso, who has steered his side to fifth in the Premier League after four wins in eight games, two points off fourth and the last traditional qualifying position for Europe’s premier competition.

Consistency, however, has been an issue.

Noted Hasselbaink: “We had a very, very good match against Everton, 2-0 away, magnificent, and the performance was great.

“Yes, the game after that (a 2-0 home defeat by Tottenham) was a little bit disappointing, but they’ve got an opportunity to put that right against Man United, and I think they will.”

On Oct 28, four days after the loss to Spurs, Chelsea also exited the Carabao Cup after a penalty shootout defeat by Liverpool.

“We have the most talented squad in the Premier League,” the Dutchman continued , name-checking players like Moises Caicedo, Levi Colwill and the “JP Morgan” attack of Joao Pedro, £117 million (S$200 million) summer signing Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer.

“They can only get better, more experienced and more together, so the future is bright.”

United have not won a league game since August, with manager Michael Carrick already facing an uphill task to save their season and his job.

Hasselbaink, who scored in six straight games against the Red Devils as a player, sees the tie as the ideal catapult for the Blues to return to winning ways.

“A good result is very important, just to remind us of the Everton game, make them realise they can do it and just find that consistency of those good matches,” he said, adding that Alonso should be given time .

“It was always going to be a bit of up and down, because (Alonso) is assessing, getting to know the players. He wants to play a different style,” he said. “It’s not going to be straight away magnificent, you have to work on it, build blocks, and I think that’s what Xabi is doing.”

As a player, Hasselbaink wore Chelsea’s No.9 shirt with distinction, forming a prolific partnership with Icelandic star Eidur Gudjohnsen over four seasons. Moving to London from Leeds in 2000 for a then-club record £15 million as the reigning top scorer in England’s top flight, the Dutchman’s 23-league goal debut season at Stamford Bridge ended with his second Premier League golden boot.

Chelsea could use a player of Hasselbaink’s calibre against United , with current No.9 Pedro sidelined with a thigh injury. The Blues have found the net 17 times in six league games this term with him leading the line – he has scored five times and notched three assists – but drew blanks the two times he did not play .

Still, Hasselbaink believes they have enough firepower to see off the flailing Red Devils.

“Two-nil to Chelsea,” he confidently predicted , tipping Pedro Neto and Palmer to get on the scoresheet .

With Hasselbaink a member of the Premier League’s “100 club”, having scored 127 goals in the competition for four clubs, the striker who was feared as much for his thundersome strikes and his willingness to, as he described, “give some physicality back” to defenders has little doubt as to how he would fare in today’s game.

“I would kill it,” he said, before catching himself when remembering Video Assistant Referees’ (VAR) addition to the game. “I will be in trouble with that.”

Hasselbaink was speaking to ST in Kuala Lumpur where he is Chelsea’s legend in residence for The Famous CFC, an international fan engagement programme presented in partnership with hospitality group Ascott KL for members under its Ascott Star Rewards loyalty programme.

On Oct 30, he spent an hour speaking to the media about his playing experiences, where he named his toughest opponents (Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell), plumped for Harry Kane over the previous English Ballon d’Or winner Michael Owen, and his fond memories of winning 2003’s pre-season FA Premier League Asia Cup in Malaysia, including a thumping finish in a 4-1 win over the host’s national side .

The event includes a watch party for Ascott Star Rewards programme guests on Oct 31, with around 180 fans expected to watch the game against Manchester United along with Hasselbaink in the Malaysian capital.

Hosted in Kuala Lumpur for the first time, the event has made its rounds through South-east Asian countries like Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok and Hanoi with Chelsea club legends like Hasselbaink, Gianfranco Zola and Gary Cahill invited in consultation with Ascott’s loyalty guests.

Ascott has been Chelsea’s official hospitality partner since 2024, and the Capitaland-owned group has been seeking to offer “experiences money can’t buy” on top of its premium hospitality, said Tan Gan Hup, Vice-President for Marketing, Loyalty and Partnerships at Ascott.

He added that offerings include stays at the Blues’ Cobham training ground and visits to tennis Grand Slams like Britain’s Wimbledon and France’s Roland Garros.

The Famous CFC watch party is one way for lifelong Chelsea supporter Pham Xuan Hoang, 29, to feel part of the Chelsea community in Asia.

“Watching a match at Stamford Bridge is my lifelong dream and obviously a completely different experience,” said the supply chain specialist, who travelled to Kuala Lumpur from Vietnam to attend the event.

“A great watch party has its own magic. You may be thousands of kilometres away from London, yet when hundreds of Chelsea fans celebrate a goal together, it genuinely feels like you are part of the same community.”