I know you will be surprised with my article title wondering why Chelsea should be in the mix for Premier League title with the array of qualities Liverpool and Manchester City have.
But don’t be surprised to see Chelsea breaking that duopoly this season. This is because their new signings seemed to have settled into the squad.
Some #MondayMotivation at the start of your week! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/tdpTwi9QsH
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 9, 2020
Before arriving at my submission, Arsenal legend, Ian right also supported my assertion that the Blues have what it takes to have a crack at winning the league this season.
After struggling towards the end of the season to secure Champions League football despite transfer ban for almost two seasons, Frank Lampard side surprised many with the academy products living up to expectation.
However, with over 250m Pounds spent in the summer transfer window that witnessed the arrival of Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Edoaud Mendy and Thiago Silva, Chelsea has started the season strongly, losing just once in their opening eight league fixtures.
Although, they conceded first against Sheffield United in their latest victory, it was a comfortable 4-1 win for them at Stamford Bridge. The Blues has now moved to the fifth spot in the league standings, with three points separating them from Leicester City occupying the top spot.
The summers signings seem to have gell and they could be headaches for defenders in the weeks to come.
“There’s a little bit of fitting the pieces together and I think the goalkeeper [Edouard Mendy], Thiago Silva, [Hakim] Ziyech coming in, [Kai] Havertz coming in, Werner coming in, I think those players and the quality and the standard of those players then yes they should be [title challengers].
“But it’s about fitting the pieces together.
“For me, playing [N’Golo] Kante, where he does, is going to free up another vital cog on the offensive side of things, because he was everywhere against Sheffield United.
“So once that’s all knitted together and they start to string a couple of wins together which they seem like they’re doing now, more clean sheets I’m sure will come.
“They’ll be very disappointed with that goal [against Sheffield United] because it was a poor goal to concede. But they’ve got everything in the armoury to actually challenge, without a doubt.”
Why Chelsea will be among the Premier League contenders
After doing the major business, Lampard had another headache in his hand, goalkeeping problems.
Lucky, Kepa Arizzabalaga fumbled when the window was opened and Lampard, who could’t rely on aging Willy Caballero had to pay another 22m Pound to Rennes to get Mendy. That looked to be the missing piece in his puzzle.
Since his signing, the Senegalese goalie has kept clean sheets in seven straight games before conceding against the Blades. With an assured performance and the defense looking stable with Silva looking to have overcome his first game error.
36 – Thiago Silva is the sixth oldest player to score for Chelsea in the Premier League (36y 46d), while only Glenn Hoddle (36y 150d) scored his first goal for the Blues at an older age than the Brazilian. Vintage. pic.twitter.com/lNgm6ZxdyM
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 7, 2020
Havertz has proven to be a great signing for the Blues, with a high work rate that seen him score four goals in ten games so far. It is hoped that he would continue from where he stopped after COVID-19 isolation.
In the absence of Havertz, Ziyech took over the mantle of creativity and the Morrocan looked to have settled in quickly into the team after a recent setback.
After overcoming his injury, the Morrocan is now the top among those who created assist in a Premier game with two coming against the Blades. The two assist where from six chance he created, earning him the Man of the Match award.
He has also added two goals in seven appearances so far to show that he is not a player that can’t be dispensed in the upcoming games.
Now to the main man, Timo Werner, the German has scored seven goals in elevn matches with an assist. The impressive return rate has seen him be behind Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, who has scored most goals in Europe since the last season.
28 – Since the start of last season, only Robert Lewandowski (37) has scored more goals when excluding penalties in Europe's big-five leagues than Timo Werner (28). Lethal. #BURCHE pic.twitter.com/9Fv2rOPEhc
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 31, 2020
With this stats, one can say Chelsea are worthy to be called Premier League title challenger.
Who will eventually lift the trophy in May next year? Let’s wait and see who will cross the finishing line first.
