Former England international, Wayne Rooney, has offered some advice to Chelsea following their recent defeat by Everton. He believes that the club needs to upgrade on Joao Pedro if they are serious about challenging for the Premier League title.
Chelsea suffered a 3-0 loss away at Everton last Saturday. This result means that Liam Rosenior, Chelsea's manager, has now experienced four consecutive losses in all competitions. The defeat against Everton leaves Chelsea in sixth place in the Premier League table and trailing by a point behind fifth-placed Liverpool.
Liverpool still holds onto the final Champions League qualification spot despite their own 2-1 defeat by Brighton on Saturday.
Pedro's performance
Joao Pedro, who moved from Brighton last summer for £60 million, has scored 14 Premier League goals this season. Despite his impressive performance so far, Rooney believes that an upgrade is necessary if Chelsea wants to get closer to winning the league title.
Rooney isn't alone in his assessment of what it will take for Chelsea to improve their standing. Alan Shearer also voiced his opinion stating that both a goalkeeper and a centre-back are needed at Stamford Bridge.
Alan Shearer, Premier League legend, said:
‘They haven’t got a top-class goalkeeper, they haven’t got a top-class centre-half, despite the money they’ve spent. And until they get that, they’re not going to compete, I don’t think, where they want to be.’
‘They [Chelsea] think that’s the right way to buy young and maybe sell on in years to come and to give long contracts. I’m not so sure.’
Wayne Rooney, Manchester United legend, said:
‘I still think the forwards as well. I know Joao Pedro has done well but I think if you’re going to challenge for the big trophies you need that centre forward who is going to inspire you.
‘I just think if you want to be successful, if you want to win trophies, every successful team has good, experienced players in their squad and if you’re going to go down their model of buying young players, selling them, bringing more young players in and trying to develop them, then I think it’s going to be very, very difficult.’
While Joao Pedro’s performance since joining from Brighton cannot be overlooked given his goal tally this season; football pundits like Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer believe more is needed for Chelsea to challenge for the Premier League title. Their advice? An upgrade on Pedro and additional signings in key positions could be the solution.
