Alan Shearer has told BBC Sport that he believes Chelsea remain the team to beat this season. The reigning Premier League champions haven’t done much in the transfer window yet, but the ex-Blackburn and Newcastle striker believes they’ll still have too much for every other club in the league as the season progresses.
Shearer said, “Chelsea won at a canter last season, certainly from February on, but it will be tighter”. The Premier League all time top scorer, who netted 260 goals during his time in the top flight, feels that Manchester City and Manchester United are the teams likely to push Chelsea the furthest in the chase for the Premier League crown. He said, “I still think there’s work to be done for United. I don’t think there’s a lot between City and United, they’ll be pushing Chelsea all the way. I still think they might lack just one or two players”.
With Manchester City having added Raheem Sterling and Fabian Delph to their ranks already and rumours abound that they’re looking to add both Paul Pogba and Kevin De Bruyne, there’s no question that the Manchester club will bounce back after a poor season last year. Their city rivals, meanwhile, have brought in a new goalkeeper in Romero and have significantly strengthened their midfield, with both Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger coming in. Despite the addition of Memphis Depay, it is widely accepted that United still need to bring in another attacker or two and would benefit from better defensive options.
Arsenal have also been reasonably quiet in the transfer market, with only Petr Cech making his way to The Emirates so far. Links to Alexandre Lacazette and Karim Benzema have so proven to be fruitless, but there’s still plenty of time left in the transfer window for Arsene Wenger to make his move.
Chelsea have only made two additions of any note, both of whom are more likely to be second choice options than out and out first XI players. Asmir Begovic has arrived from Stoke in order to offer some cover for Thibaut Cortois, and Radamel Falcao has come in to replace Diego Costa should he get injured or fatigued as the season goes on.
Regardless of the limited additions, however, Shearer still feels that Chelsea will be good enough to defend their crown, declaring that they remain “the team to beat” this season. The former England front man feels that the top four is likely to remain the same but “not necessarily in that order”, saying that, even though Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur have improved their squads this summer, they are unlikely to have enough to break into the cabal at the top of the table.