Troy Deeney names the players who will cost Chelsea the Premier League title
Today at 07:34 AM
Chelsea are in the Premier League title race but they won’t win unless they replace several players in key positions.
That is the opinion of former Watford captain Troy Deeney who thinks that the Blues’ backline is not good enough to win the club major honours.
Chelsea secured a 2-1 win at Leicester on Saturday to stay third in the table, level on points with Arsenal and Brighton, and just one behind Manchester City.
They’re six points behind Liverpool who could extend their lead by beating Southampton on Sunday.
Since Todd Boehly’s takeover, the west London club have been far off the pace, finishing 12th and sixth in the last two seasons but under Enzo Maresca they appear to have found their rhythm.
Finishing in the top four would have been the aim for this campaign, but following an impressive start some believe they are title contenders.
Deeney thinks that is the case but says they can’t be serious challengers until they’ve solved their defensive and goalkeeping issues.
‘Right now they should be looking at [the title race],’ the former striker told talkSPORT.
‘But I still think that goalkeeper [Robert Sanchez] and the defenders keep letting in poor goals.
‘That should have been an easy 2-0 win, if not a 3-0 win. Just open at the back today and I think that’s why they have to go for top four right now.
‘Unless in January they go out and get a couple of signings, that backline is going to cost them.’
Chelsea have kept just two clean sheets in their first 12 league games, with Sanchez in particular coming under a lot of criticism after several error-prone performances.
The club did sign Filip Jorgensen over the summer for £20.5million but the Danish keeper has been restricted to cup and European appearances only, with Maresca set to keep faith in Sanchez for now.
Against Leicester, Chelsea’s defence did look nervy at times, including conceding an injury-time penalty, though they did not have their first-choice back-four.
Right-backs Reece James and Malo Gusto were injured, while centre-back Levi Colwill was playing through illness and worryingly seemed to collapse on the pitch after full-time.
But Maresca may be forced to work with what he’s got at the moment rather than sign new players as his current defender and goalkeeper roster has cost the club over £300m to assemble.
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