“Sterling will make them better”- Chelsea told to sign “three or four” players to compete for the title

Club News: Gabriel Agbonlahor tells Chelsea need to sign four more players this summer

Former Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor while speaking on TalkSport (h/t Express), has told Chelsea they will need to sign “three or four” more players if they wish to compete against Manchester City and Liverpool next season.

This advice comes after reports claimed that the Blues have agreed to a £47.5 million fee for City starlet Raheem Sterling. The England international could become the first signing of the Blues this summer and also the first of many under the new ownership.

“Sterling will make them better, but for me they still need another three or four top players to get anywhere near Liverpool or Manchester City.”

GABRIEL AGBONLAHOR ON TALKSPORT

Agbonlahor believes that defensive reinforcements are necessary, but Thomas Tuchel should also sign a striker. He is not wrong in this department with the Blues seeing their senior defenders like Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen along with striker Romelu Lukaku depart the club last month.

Tuchel would be well aware of the defensive hole in his squad. To add to his woes, Marcos Alonso and captain Cesar Azpilicueta have been linked to a move to Spain this summer, with Barcelona said to be the preferred destination. This has further added to the necessity for Tuchel and Todd Boehly to bring in defensive reinforcements.

Matthijs de Ligt and Nathan Ake are said to be the priority targets for the Blues this summer. Apart from this, they are also linked with Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and Sevilla’s Jules Kounde.

For de Ligt, Chelsea are said to be in a tussle with Bayern Munich, with the Dutchman favouring a move to the German side over Chelsea. Up front, Raheem Sterling is looking set to join the west London outfit, with the club also being linked with a move for Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele and Leeds United forward Raphinha.

Chelsea are currently in the United States for their pre-season campaign with the first game being against Club America on July 16. They will complete their pre-season on July 29 with a friendly against Udinese in Italy, with their next season’s Premier League campaign set to begin on August 6 with an away trip to Everton.

Tuchel will hope to have a squad ready by then. If he fails to do so, the Blues could be out of the title race after the first few games of the season, given the consistency of City and Liverpool.

City have signed Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, and Kalvin Phillips while the Reds have Darwin Nunez and Fabio Carvalho in their ranks. The Blues are set to bring in Sterling but that isn’t enough.

More Chelsea News:

• Blow for Chelsea as Ousmane Dembele close to Barcelona contract renewal
• Transfer News: Barcelona submit improved bid for Chelsea target Raphinha
• Transfer News: Barcelona move for Cesar Azpilicueta not imminent

Agbonlahor, meanwhile, is correct. We do need signings here and there, especially in defence. Hopefully, we are wise enough to invest before the season starts.