Chelsea won on the opening weekend of the season but doubt continues to swirl around the west London outfit.
A change in the director's box has been followed by a major turnover of players, with several of their leading lights heading for pastures new. As a result Chelsea have had to dip into the market to bolster their ranks with several big names arriving, but the feeling is they are still short.
Thomas Tuchel failed to deliver any silverware last term despite a promising start to his tenure and will be out to change that. The German is not one to keep an opinion to himself though and has made his views clear on their chances of success this term. These are the latest news lines involving the club.
Tuchel's worrying admission
Tuchel dropped a clear hint that he fears Chelsea won’t compete for the title without making more signings with Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly their only major arrivals.
He said: “I hesitate a little bit to answer this question because in general I don’t want to limit our ambitions artificially in beginning of August. And I don’t want to put pressure on us by putting out now any number that we want to reach. If you ask me if I feel confident enough that we win the next match, yes we can win the next match and we will prepare to beat Tottenham, which is a big ask at the moment, and which is a big match for us and a tough opponent.
“And then we go step by step and this is a luxury that we deserve at the moment, because the summer and not only the summer but the whole spring and whole summer was what it was for us. So we are in a bit of delay. This is nobody’s fault. It’s the reality. It is the luxury that we just focus on our situation now, improve our squad because we have some issues to get better on. In general, every team fights for top four in this league and, if in March and April you’re in the race, you’re in the race. And if you’re not in the race.”
"Fighter" Spurs primed to challenge Blues
Ruud Gullit says Antonio Conte has turned Spurs into ‘"fighters" - and Chelsea now need to take their heavyweight rivals seriously.
He told Mirror Sport: “To me, Tottenham look a little bit better. Tottenham definitely look better - Chelsea look the same. I think Tottenham are more aware of what they need to do. You need a fighting spirit. That’s what they have.
“I don’t think they are ready to challenge - yet. But they look better and that’s more because of Conte. I think it’s the energy he puts into the team and also what he demands from them. It’s much better. You can see they’re fighting more for each other. That’s one thing that is so important. Therefore they will be better than last year, that’s for sure.”
Conte backs Lukaku
Antonio Conte has backed Romelu Lukaku to be a success at Chelsea despite his poor season.
The Belgian has since been sent back to Inter Milan on loan after being labelled a flop. Conte was keen on the forward when he was in charge at Stamford Bridge and clearly remains a believer in the former Everton marksman. He said: "I know for sure he is a bit disappointed with his impact, because he wanted to have another impact in England. But he has time.
"Now it's right for him to play for an important club in Italy to try to get again confidence in himself. But we are talking about a really important, a really good striker. Romelu lived two years in Milan and he was the king. The fans showed him a lot of passion and I think he’s a guy who needs this. For this reason, I think he wanted to come back in Milan, but for sure, the signing was a good signing for Chelsea. There are players that need more time to make an impact."
