Does Chelsea really need to improve their squad?

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has stated he does need any more players, despite a move for Everton centre-back John Stones

Chelsea seems to be stalking Everton centre-back John Stones like a dirty old man in a raincoat following a cheerleader.

There just seems something wrong about the whole thing. The Premier League champions have made their intentions clear and boss Jose Mourinho is clearly not scared to talk about other team’s players.

On a serious note, my question would be is John Stones, or any other player necessarily needed to strengthen the Blues squad this summer?

Mourinho’s squad were pretty strong last season, but a few additions to their squad would have made them even stronger.

Quiet

The Blues have enjoyed a quiet summer in the transfer market by their usual standards. Petr Cech has been sold to Arsenal and Bosnian ‘keeper Asmir Begovic has arrived as his replacement to warm the bench while Belgian youngster Thibaut Courtois actually starts the big games.

Colombian striker Radamel Falcao has also been loaned in from Monaco to act as back-up to the first choice striker Diego Costa. The two moves are only keeping the squad at the same level as last season, as Falcao is just a direct replacement for veteran forward Didier Drogba who was released earlier this summer.

Not needed

In truth last season Chelsea sauntered to the Premier League title. They took their foot off the pedal towards the end of the campaign when it became apparent that no other team was capable of catching them.

Blues boss Mourinho has even stated that he does not need any more players. The Portuguese boss told Sky Sports: “In this moment we don’t want players,”

“Of course we must be ready because the market is open and if someone comes for one of our players with a bid, we must be ready to act.”

“We need a left-back because I think we will sell Filipe Luis, so we need to go to the market. But other positions we have no space.”

Filipe Luis looks set for a return to former club Atletico Madrid, despite the Brazilian international having only arrived in England last summer. The left-back struggled for first team football last season at Stamford Bridge and was back-up to extremely consistent Spaniard Cesar Azpilicueta

As Mourinho stated there is no space for players in many other positions than left-back. The Blues seem to have decent depth in every area of the squad. The squad players may not be as good as the regular first teamers, but that is why they are only squad players and not starters.

Difficult

However, the lack of movement in the transfer market has been surprising considering that their rivals Manchester City and Manchester United have both strengthened their squads for the new season.

Even Arsenal have to be considered a better team with Petr Cech in goal. It will definitely not be as easy for the Blues to dominate the Premier League in the coming season as other teams will be far stronger.

Chelsea are favourites to win the Premier League title at odds of 6/4, but it could be a much tighter title race this year.

A main concern for Chelsea would be if they are strong enough to challenge in the Champions League. They fell short last season against big spending French giants PSG last season.

The strength of the Chelsea squad may be good enough for the Premier League, but their squad is definitely not comparable to the favourites for the competition like Barcelona and Real Madrid.

The fact of the matter is that Chelsea’s current team would have to be at their best to compete with the two giants of La Liga in the Champions League, and even then they may not be good enough to win the competition for a second time.

Title

I still believe that Chelsea are the best team in the Premier League and will probably win the title. However without any new signings they are less likely to win the Champions League in the new campaign.

Does Chelsea need new signings this summer?