06 September 2023 , 07:54
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Chelsea will finish in the top four of the Premier League this season despite their poor start and major summer squad overhaul, according to Robbie Savage.
The Blues finished a miserable 12th last season after a chaotic campaign which saw Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard take charge. They have undergone a complete rebuild this summer, with Mauricio Pochettino taking the helm and over £350million being spent in the transfer window.
Pochettino is yet to make the desired impact, with Chelsea back in 12th having won just one of their opening four games, with that sole success coming against newly-promoted Luton. It is early days in the Pochettino era and former Premier League midfielder Savage is confident the former Tottenham boss will come good over time.
“When Mauricio Pochettino was appointed I thought Chelsea would get in the top four, and I still believe that,” he told Planet Sport. “They’ve signed so many good, hungry players and with a manager like Pochettino and the way he can develop players and teams, I think that Chelsea will still finish in the top four.
“With no European football the extra time on the training pitch is going to be so valuable to Pochettino. When you look at how many players they’ve brought in it is going to take him a lot of time to galvanise this group and to get them playing the way that he wants.
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“Pochettino has to find a system where the striker will score 20 or more goals a season. No Chelsea number 9 since [Diego] Costa has done this. As soon as Poch does that I think Chelsea will start firing on all cylinders and will, with time, be a huge success and start challenging for trophies under him.”
Chelsea failed to score against Nottingham Forest (Rob Newell/Getty Images) HAVE YOUR SAY! Do you agree with Robbie Savage's take on Chelsea? Comment below.
Chelsea scored just 38 goals in as many league games last season and the goalscoring burden is currently falling on new arrival Nicolas Jackson and the experienced Raheem Sterling. Jackson has netted once in the Premier League since joining from Villarreal for around £32m, while Sterling scored both of his goals in the 3-0 win over Luton.
Their problem with finding the back of the net was evident in the 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Speaking to the press afterwards, Pochettino admitted that 22-year-old Jackson is far from the finished item.
“I think in the future we will be talking differently. He needs time to adapt to the Premier League. He is doing a fantastic job but scoring is not easy,” he said. “He is a little bit rushed in his decisions. He needs to be a little bit more calm and relaxed and for sure he is going to score goals.”