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Former Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas asserted that Chelsea have a quality squad to challenge for the Premier League title next season after comparing the current team to the Antonio Conte squad from six years ago.
He claimed, when Guus Hiddink arrived, he played young players like Tammy Abraham, Andreas Christiansen, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek to give them experience. The next season, Conte was appointed, and the Blues went on to win the Premier League that season.
It may be difficult to predict, but the former Blues midfielder believes it is possible, as long as Chelsea supports their new manager.
The West Londoners are currently winless in their previous six games with interim manager Frank Lampard in charge. They will next play Bournemouth while ranking 12th in the Premier League.
The Spanish international was present in Sky Sports Studio, (h/t Football.London), during Chelsea’s 3-1 loss to Arsenal and said:
“Let’s not forget something: six years ago we had a really bad season with Chelsea; we finished 10th, if I remember correctly. Jose Mourinho left, Guus Hiddink came, and he started to play younger players—Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Andreas Christiansen, and Tammy Abraham—to give them experience for the next year.”
“I remember in April they signed [Antonio] Conte, who came to the training ground, spoke to us individually, and planned what he wanted to do with us to start afresh, and next season we won the Premier League. Against [Pep] Guardiola, against [Jurgen] Klopp, against Mourinho at Manchester United It’s not impossible.”
According to Fabregas, young players were given opportunities, and Conte had faith in the team, which led to the club winning the Premier League in 2016–17 and the FA Cup the following year. However, it only took the Italian manager one season to get us to the Premier League title.
There are immediate results and triumphs under the former manager of Juventus, but things could be different under Mauricio Pochettino, who is close to being recruited for the upcoming season. The Argentine needs time to establish his philosophy and groundwork.
Most importantly, the supporters will have to back him up because it will take a lot of patience for Chelsea to return to winning ways. Fabregas’ comments mean well. He is praising the strength of this squad and that Chelsea fans should be optimistic about next season.
But they can raise unrealistic expectations. It will be unrealistic to think we can compete with Manchester City or even Liverpool as early as next season. Of course, no European football can help but building a team with young players can take time. Patience will be key.
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