There is a freshness to the Chelsea squad with several new arrivals already this summer, but John Obi Mikel insists the club still needs to make two key signings.
The Blues have been busy improving their group ahead of the 2025/26 season.
In fact, new signings such as Liam Delap and Joao Pedro have already made positive impacts for them at the Club World Cup tournament.
Chelsea could still look for more attacking signings to strengthen the group even further. We would argue there should be a priority towards the defensive positions, if any, though.
Photo by Kate Green/Getty ImagesJohn Obi Mikel urges Chelsea to sign a goalkeeper and centre-back
John Obi Mikel, the former Chelsea star, insists that the Blues still need to strengthen in a couple of key positions.
He claims that they are crying out for a new goalkeeper to replace Robert Sanchez in their starting line-up. Also, there is a need to add a quality central defender to play alongside Levi Colwill next season.
Mikel told talkSPORT: “The goalkeeper situation is a situation that needs to be sorted out. We can’t go into the new season with [Robert] Sanchez. I’m sorry. I’m sure that 99 per cent of the Chelsea fans will agree with me that Sanchez is not the goalkeeper that will win us trophies, definitely not…
“Levi Colwill, I like. I think potentially he can become a top, top defender. He’s not there yet, but you can see the potential is there to become a top, top defender. I strongly believe that we do need another top centre-back next to him.”
The topic of Chelsea’s goalkeeper position has been intense for several seasons now. While Sanchez is capable of top performances, it does always feel like a mistake is just around the corner.
French goalkeeper Mike Maignan has decided to stay with AC Milan despite intense links with a move to Chelsea this summer.
If the Blues can find an upgrade in the keeper department, we would urge the club’s sporting directors to go all in before the start of next season.
Chelsea are looking for a new goalkeeper and left-sided defender this summer, but will we see reinforcements for the backline arrive after the Club World Cup?
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty ImagesLast chance saloon for Wesley Fofana
Wesley Fofana, 24, is a top-class centre-back on Chelsea’s books. However, the main issue is that he’s only played 34 matches for the Blues across the last three seasons because of some serious injury problems.
Fofana is in Maresca’s top three favourite Chelsea players, but it must be getting to a point where everyone’s patience is running out.
We like the crop of central defenders at Stamford Bridge with Fofana, Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo, Trevoh Chalobah, Benoit Badiashile and Mamadou Sarr. The backline hugely suffers when Fofana is out of action, though.
Like Mikel, we would be tempted to splash the cash for a new star defender, but perhaps Fofana deserves one last chance to try and prove his fitness.