In a recent interview, Blues and England legend John Terry mentioned that he believes the fans will need to be patient with this current roster of players and a Premier League title may well be 3-5 years off but it will come.
The club legend lifted the Premier League trophy 5 times during Roman Abramovich’s reign at the club alongside a medley of other winner’s medals. Now coaching at Leicester City, Terry made it clear to the media today that he does not think the current Chelsea squad is quite ready to make themselves real title contenders but has praised numerous players for their role in the surge in performance this season following a dismal last couple of campaigns.
Dip in form
Recent months have seen new manager, Enzo Maresca’s side dip in form after a blistering start to the 2024/25 campaign which had them very much in title contention. Had you been wagering some money on Chelsea in October, you would likely been confident in betting on at least a top 4 finish at the very least with their performances. Whilst the West London club is still very much in the Champions League race and it may still be worth checking out the safest and most secure online betting sites not on GamStop to place a wager on their eventual finish, they have seen a substantial downfall since the turn of the year.
With such young talent, it was unlikely they would have gone the full season without some turbulence. Terry detailed, correctly, that you could never expect such young players – as part of the rebuilding process in this new form of the club – to consistently perform without having experience and game time under their belts.
Role of Palmer
Terry has spoken further recently about the role of the new Chelsea and English talisman, Cole Palmer. Captain of the club now, the young talent was immense for the start of the season off the back of his involvement with England at the Euros but his lack of recent form has coincided with the club’s drop off in points and surge in recent months following a goal drought of 2 months.
As a former inspirational captain, Terry knows so much about what it takes to lead teams at the highest level and has sung Palmer’s praise in a recent interview advising that whilst he may not be the most conventional of leaders, his incredible dedication and standards that he sets is bound to be an inspiration in the dressing room. He noted that often the perception of captains is to be loud and commanding yet Palmer captains this new-age Chelsea side through the way he plays and his manner when playing the game.
New faces
Manager Maresca has had the luxury of being able to rotate the squad frequently throughout the season. During a busy schedule that started the season this was of huge benefit to the team but as the season has gone on it seems the lack of consistency on the team sheet has perhaps hampered Chelsea’s chance of winning silverware this year. Despite this huge squad, Chelsea managed to do some business in January and got rid of some of their periphery players. They have also agreed to sign young talents Geovany Quenda and Dario Essugo from Sporting Lisbon for a total transfer fee of around €75 million. Essugo will arrive this summer to hopefully strengthen the squad for next season and the 17-year-old, Quenda will join the Stamford Bridge dressing room in 2026.
These new signings should hopefully bolster the youthful talent the club already has at its disposal and Chelsea still have the chance to grab silverware as they progress through to the Conference League Quarter Finals which will give some of the young players at the club some valuable European football experience. As for the league, it is not all over for Maresca’s men but they need to find a last-gasp bit of form to ensure a Champions League spot in a tight race in the coming weeks.