Former England international Joe Cole believes Chelsea has what it takes to mount a stromg title challenge in the Premier League this season.
He made this known on the backdrop of the team’s impressive position on the league table, where they sit fourth place.
Speaking with Mail Sport, Cole tipped Chelsea to push Liverpool all the way if they can start to close the gap at the top between now and the end of the year.
‘I think if they can be at the turn of the year after the Christmas period, if they’re within six points I think they can mount a title challenge,’ Cole said.
‘Because knowing the owners, I think they’ll go in and have a go again (in the January transfer window). But that is really remarkable that I’m saying that because there were times last year when you were searching for answers and we didn’t know where they’d end up.’
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‘The best thing in Chelsea’s favour is playing in the Europa Conference League,’ he continued.
‘There is such a disparity in the level that they’re able to keep all their players fit and ready, so if they suffer injuries like they have already a little bit, players are coming in and they’re ready to hit the ground running. You wouldn’t be able to do that if they were in the Champions League and maybe even the Europa League and still compete.
‘There’s a lot of positives and it’s allowing players like (Mykailo) Mudryk, (Kiernan) Dewsbury-Hall, (Benoit) Badiashile to all get game time, all develop, all learn, because they need games. Everyone is improving, the manager, the players, everything is calmer. There’s an opportunity to get back to the top.’
