- Chelsea dropped out of the top four after a series of disappointing performances
- Jamie Carragher has revealed what Chelsea need to win the Premier League title
- SOCCER AZ: Listen now wherever you get your podcastsOr watch it on YouTube. New episodes every Wednesday and Friday
Jamie Carragher believes Chelsea will not win the Premier League until the club improves three key positions in Enzo Maresca’s squad.
Chelsea came out of the gate at the start of last year’s Premier League season and were viewed by many as Liverpool’s closest title challengers heading into the Christmas period – but fell behind Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Newcastle after a string of disappointing performances. .
Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s huge clash against Wolves on Monday night, with the Blues having not won in the Premier League since December 15 against Brentford, Carragher opened up about what they need to do to compete with the likes of Liverpool at the top.
He urged that the west London club lacked quality in one key position in particular, claiming that their closest rivals all boasted better players in that area.
“What they have is a lot of centre-backs,” the Liverpool legend said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football. “They are not, in terms of the size of the squad, lower than the centre-backs, perhaps in terms of quality, in terms of a real top-notch.
“You think of (William) Saliba at Arsenal, you think of (Virgil) van Dijk at Liverpool. That’s what this team needs, someone of that stature.
Jamie Carragher believes Chelsea will not win a title until the club improves three key positions
According to the Liverpool legend, Chelsea lack ‘outstanding’ quality at centre-back in particular
Carragher believes Champions League goals should be the minimum for Enzo Maresca
Chelsea recalled Trevo Chalupa from his loan spell at Crystal Palace earlier this month, adding the 25-year-old defender to a rich list of midfielders including England international Levi Colwell, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana and Axel Disasi. And Aaron. Anselmino.
But according to Carragher, Chelsea will struggle to lift trophies without signing another player of higher quality in the field.
He continued to insist that Champions League qualification should be the minimum expectation for Chelsea’s young side this season, given that Todd Buhle and Clearlake Capital have spent more than £1bn on new recruits since arriving as owners.
Carragher also believes a promotion up two further places would put Chelsea within striking distance of Premier League silverware.
He continued: “I think Chelsea should win the Champions League this season.”
“I know it’s a young team, I understand that, but the money spent over the last two years with the new ownership, they changed the manager, the minimum requirement should be Champions League next season.”
“Then you can imagine they invest in a goalkeeper, maybe a centre-back, maybe another striker. Then they might be in a position to challenge for the title.