'Chelsea wouldn't win the Premier League even with Mbappe and Bellingham'
Cameron Smith
- 31 Oct 2023 22:24 GMT
- 3 min read
Former Chelsea midfielder Andy Townsend believes the Blues would not win the Premier League title even if they signed Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side are currently 11th in the English top flight table, having picked up just 12 points from their opening 10 games.
The west London club spent over €450 million on new players during the summer transfer window, including €116m on Moises Caicedo, but that investment from Todd Boehly has not seen a marked improvement on the pitch.
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Chelsea have won just three league games this season - the joint-sixth worst in the Premier League - although an injury crisis at Stamford Bridge has not helped new boss Pochettino.
The Blues’ struggles were discussed on TalkSPORT, with former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan backing them to win the Premier League title within the next three years, despite their poor form over the past 12 months.
However, ex-Chelsea midfielder Townsend doesn’t agree. In fact, he believes his former side wouldn’t win the title even if Mbappe and Bellingham joined.
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What has been said?
Speaking on TalkSPORT, Townsend admitted: “Look, they are acquiring some very good young players, [but] there are never any guarantees on young players stepping up and being able to make the difference, never!”
He then asked his co-host Ally McCoist: “If Chelsea had Mbappe and Bellingham, in this current team, would they win the league?”
McCoist responded by saying: "Probably not,” before Townsend replied: “Of course they wouldn't, no chance!”
“I've seen Chelsea a fair bit this season,” the ex-Blues player continued. “I saw them against Arsenal, I thought they played very well and unfortunately didn't win the game, a bit unlucky not to have won that game.
“At the weekend against Brentford, my goodness me, they could still be there now and they wouldn't even have a shot, never mind score.”
Bellingham has scored 13 goals in 13 Real Madrid games this season, while Mbappe has found the back of the net on 12 occasions for Paris Saint-Germain in 2023-24.
By comparison, Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson are Chelsea’s joint-top scorers in all competitions this campaign, with just three goals each.
