Chelsea are not yet favourites for the Premier League title, says Scott Minto, but the Blues are considered to be serious challengers to Liverpool after striking the “perfect balance” in their squad.
Frank Lampard was freed to invest heavily in fresh faces over the summer and he bolstered his ranks from front to back, with the likes of Edouard Mendy, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner drafted in.
Inevitably, it took a while for a new-look team to settle and for the impact of big-money additions to be felt.
Chelsea have, however, hit their stride over recent weeks, going unbeaten through their last 13 games in all competitions.
Strength in depth is aiding the Blues’ cause, with Minto conceding that few sides boast the options now available to Lampard.
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The former Chelsea full-back told Stadium Astro: “The second XI is good enough to finish in the top eight of the Premier League.
“The first XI, and I’m trying to hold myself back from saying this because it is early, there is no reason – with this being the most open season for a long time – that Chelsea can’t start to believe, maybe after Christmas if they have a good run, that they are title challengers. I don’t think anyone would have said that at the start of the season.
“They are not the favourites. In the Liverpool game [a 2-0 defeat in September] they were so far apart, Liverpool were so much classier that day.
“But times have changed – Mendy has come in, Silva is looking fit, the back five look strong, [N’Golo] Kante is protecting them defensively as well and he’s giving them an opportunity to have an extra attacking midfielder, [Olivier] Giroud is scoring goals, Werner could be on 15 already, [Tammy] Abraham is playing well. And that’s not even talking about the likes of Ziyech, [Mason] Mount and all the other attacking wide players that Chelsea have.
“Listen, things are going really well at the moment. I still can’t see anyone above Liverpool. If anyone finishes above Liverpool, they win the title.
“I said at the start of the season that I thought City would be desperate to bounce back and show that they can be the team of two seasons ago. They have disappointed me in terms of their start.
“Liverpool have the injuries and that may well disrupt them going forward, but for me it’s still Liverpool.
“But if Chelsea keep doing what they are doing, they have got the balance perfect, everyone is scoring goals, they are keeping clean sheets and not conceding many, at the moment things could not be going better for Frank Lampard and Jody Morris.”
Chelsea, who are already through to the last 16 of the Champions League, will be back in action on Tuesday when they play host to Krasnodar, before then taking in a Premier League trip to Everton on Saturday.
