Chelsea legend Frank Lampard believes the club are now in a position to challenge for the top four this season under Enzo Maresca.
The Blues have missed out on the Champions League for the past two seasons and will be desperate to get back into the competition.
Early signs look positive and the team have made a really good start to the season and currently sit fourth with 13 points from their first six games, just two points behind early leaders Liverpool.
Lampard backs Chelsea to compete for the top four
Obviously there’s still a long way to go this season and it’s hard to get a real gauge at this early stage of just how good this Chelsea side are, despite putting in some impressive performances.
There’s been a lot of turmoil surrounding the club both on and off the pitch over the past two years with multiple different managers and a high turnover of players, but it appears the club now have a settled squad and can focus on matters on the pitch.
The aim this season is no doubt to get back into the Champions League, and former Blue Lampard now believes the club are in a position to do so.
“I do feel now that they’re in a good position to challenge for top four again, to be where Chelsea expect to be,” he told TNT Sports Mexico as cited on X.com.
“After two or three years of being in a transition and a difficult time, change of ownership, change of managers, change of players and the squad, there’s a lot of new faces and players, it’s understandable that they haven’t competed.”
Competition for the top four is fierce and Chelsea will be competing with the likes of Aston Villa, Tottenham, Newcastle and Manchester United.
Early evidence suggests they will be right in the mix, but with a tough run of fixtures after the international break against the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal we will find a lot more out about this team and just how far they have come in a short space of time.