Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo has claimed that sending Florent Malouda to the reserve squad was the correct decision and one that helps the club moving forward.

Malouda has been an important player over the past few years at Stamford Bridge, but it seems Di Matteo doesn’t need or want him, so his days in West London are numbered.

Lyon have expressed an interest in resigning the left winger who has seen the likes of Eden Hazard, Marko Marin, Victor Moses and Oscar arrive this summer who can all comfortably play in his natural position and Di Matteo is adamant the Chelsea players understand his decisions.

“They have accepted the decision that has been made by us, and they're just going to focus on their targets for this season,” Di Matteo told the Daily Mail.

“Over the past, there's been some expression of the player to part company, but it hasn't happened.”

“So we've moved forward, brought in other players and they're the ones we're going to work with this season.”

“It was a combined decision between me and the club.”

“It's obviously not an extremely positive message or decision for him, but I guess, at the end, we have to look after our own interests and that's the decision we've taken.”