Danny Murphy reveals 'worry' for Chelsea and sends warning to Pochettino

Danny Murphy has warned Mauricio Pochettino that Chelsea’s current squad would finish outside the Champions League places.

The Blues won just 11 of their 38 league games last season to finish in the bottom-half of the Premier League for the first time in almost 30 years.

Chelsea hope Pochettino’s arrival at Stamford Bridge will transform the club’s form and lead to immediate success next term.

But ex-England midfielder Murphy believes Chelsea are still ‘two or three’ major signings away from a top-four challenge, despite the club spending almost £600m on transfers over the past 12 months.

Chelsea have welcomed Christopher Nkunku and Malo Gusto to Stamford Bridge this summer but are still expected to sign a new goalkeeper, centre-back, central midfielder and striker before the start of the new season.

While the club look for reinforcements, they have also been busy trimming Chelsea’s bloated squad, with N’Golo Kante one of several players heading to Saudi Arabia and Mateo Kovacic on his way to Manchester City.

‘Chelsea are losing a lot of players, they’re trimming the squad which I think is what most fans want,’ Murphy said on the FIVE YouTube channel.

‘There’s a few players off to Saudi – Kante, [Kalidou] Koulibaly, possibly [Edouard] Mendy and [Hakim] Ziyech. Kovacic looks like he’s going to Man City.

‘Although I do think that’s the right thing to do, when you look at the squad and the spine of the team, I’m not sure they’re as strong as some people think.

‘I worry for Chelsea in the midfield area. I know they need goals but they’ve got options in the forward positions. They’ve lost Kante and Kovacic so they need midfielders.

‘There’s going to be some money spent but unless they make two or three really experienced signings, I don’t see them getting back in the top-four next season.’

Chelsea are expected to sell Kai Havertz to London rivals Arsenal for around £65m, while they remain in talks with Manchester United over a move for Mason Mount.

As for possible incomings, Chelsea still hope to complete a deal for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo and are closing in on a £30m swoop for Villarreal forward Nicolas Jackson.

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