CHELSEA are the favourites to win next season’s Premier League title following Thomas Tuchel’s rapid start at the club, says Michael Essien.
The former Blues midfielder, 38, won two league winners’ medals at Stamford Bridge and believes Tuchel can collect one of his own.
Since taking over in late January, the 47-year-old German has guided Chelsea to the FA Cup and Champions League semi-finals.
And Essien reckons a full-on tilt at the title is next on the agenda despite Manchester City’s dominance in 2020-21.
The Ghanaian told Ladbrokes: “I’m going to say Chelsea win the league next season, based on how good they’ve looked since Thomas Tuchel has taken over.
“They’re my first choice for the title, then it’s obviously going to be Man United, Liverpool and Man City who will be right up there with them.
“With the players Thomas Tuchel has got at his disposal, I think he’s got all the tools needed to challenge for the title next season.
“If you look from the goalkeepers to the forwards, they’ve got big names all over the pitch. They’ve got it all.
“I love the fact that they’ve got Thiago Silva at the back, his experience really is vital to that team and he’s such a great name the younger players in the squad can learn from.
“In terms of where else they could realistically strengthen – I’m not sure, because it’s very difficult to go out and find a quality striker available in the market.
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“Plus, I really like Timo Werner, I actually think he’s done very well, particularly in recent weeks. He’s so tricky to keep up with so if he can start adding goals to his game next season I don’t think it’s an area Chelsea will need to look at strengthening.
“Even without scoring goals, he’s still contributing so much to the team, giving assists to his teammates and playing a vital role in winning games.
“But as a striker, especially at that price, when you’re not scoring, people tend not to look at anything else that you do other than your goal ratio.”
Chelsea managers do not tend to have a long shelf life and the club will need to be prepared for whenever the Tuchel era comes to an end.
For Essien, Leicester boss and former Blues backroom member Brendan Rodgers is an ideal candidate to one day take charge at Stamford Bridge.
He continued: “I know Brendan Rodgers from our time at Chelsea – it would be great if he could come back and manage the team.
“I’m not the one to decide these things but it would be great to see him in the dugout for Chelsea.
“He did very well at Liverpool and was so close to winning the title. It didn’t happen, so he went and won a lot of trophies with Celtic.
“He’s since returned to the Premier League, where he’s taken Leicester to a different level. If I could see him one day at Chelsea, it would be amazing.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
