Once again, at the midway point of the season, it feels like Chelsea are headed nowhere of note. The last two times, they were able to finish the campaign strongly. The fans will be hoping that they repeat those heroics a third straight year. For that to happen, they might need to make additions in a few areas of their squad.
It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that this Chelsea squad has glaring holes. That is remarkable considering how much money they have spent since the change of ownership.
Unfortunately, a lot of that money has been wasted signing players who never developed into Chelsea-quality talents. That's down to the recruitment strategy of the sporting directors and the owners.
Maresca is not the problem at Chelsea right now. It is the way of thinking of the sporting directors brought in by the owners to steer that club. Hopefully, they are willing to tweak their methods after producing years of mediocrity on a premium budget.
Alan Shearer tells Chelsea three signings they need to make
Alan Shearer appears to believe that Chelsea need to make three signings if they want to be serious contenders. As reported by TEAMtalk, the legendary striker said on The Rest Is Football podcast:
"I think they’re lacking a top-class No.9 and a top-class centre-half, I think, as well.
“I’m not saying that [Joao] Pedro and [Liam] Delap can’t do it, but I think to get to that elite level and challenge for Premier League, then I would say they’d probably need a top class centre-forward and centre-half.’
“Maybe a goalkeeper… I’ve never been convinced with Chelsea that they can win the league."
We do not exactly agree with the call for a new goalkeeper. That might have been the sentiment in the summer, but so far this season, Robert Sanchez has been one of Chelsea's best players. If calls are being made to change him, they are based on his past performances, not the level he has been performing at in the ongoing campaign.
The other areas are clearly in need of strengthening. Joao Pedro and Liam Delap were brought in this summer. The former has been decent. The latter looks lost. But neither is the 25-goal-a-season striker that Chelsea needs. And Maresca's call for a new centre-back, following Levi Colwill's injury, was not met, which was a clear mistake. The Blues' defence has let them down time and again this season. Whenever the opposition puts on some pressure, they crumble at the back.