Chelsea defender Thiago Silva believes his side can win the Premier League title next season, despite their lack of readiness for their opener against Everton.
The Blues will travel to Goodison Park on Saturday evening to face the Toffees on matchday one of the new season, with Thomas Tuchel’s side looking to build upon their third place finish from the previous campaign.
Pre-season has seen them have a mixed bag of results, having won three and lost two games throughout the summer.
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Friday and Saturday saw them beat Udinese twice in two different games, with Chelsea winning by a combined score of 5-1.
Despite the victories, Tuchel believes his side are not ready for the forthcoming season, especially their upcoming match against Everton away from home.
“We trained a lot this week, especially two days ago so we did not have the freshest legs,” said the German boss after the win on Friday evening.
"But we have a lot of positive things to take away from this game. It’s a good performance, it’s a good result, we could’ve scored much more, should’ve scored much more.
"But overall, it’s a lot of positive stuff to take away from this.
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“Tomorrow (Saturday), we play another match here against Udinese, another team, to have minutes in our legs.
"Then it’s two days break. Then we prepare nothing else but Everton because they are right in front of the door and we need to improve, we are not ready yet.
"We don’t have to be ready yet, we have another week and then it’s the time to be on the best level and there’s still some way to go.”
Silva has now raised the same concerns over their preparation for the new campaign when he told the Chelsea website: “We have to do things well now during the week before the start of the Premier League.
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“I think we are not at 100 per cent quite yet, but we must work hard and well this week to arrive ready for Saturday.”
However, he did later reveal what his aim for the season is: "To win the Premier League.
"It’s a very difficult league to play in, but I think it’s possible."
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Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly are the club’s only signings of the summer so far, with Chelsea still keen on bringing more defenders to the club.
They are set to make their first offer for Leicester City centre-back Wesley Fofana, who is valued at around £70 million having signed a new long-term contract until 2027 this year.
If the Foxes receive an offer that they are willing to accept, then they would not stand in Fofana’s way if he wanted to leave this summer.
The Blues have already lost in their pursuits of the likes of Jules Kounde and Matthijs de Ligt, so will not want to miss out on other targets.
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There is still time for them to sign new players before the end of the window, but they must act fast if they are to compete next season.
Topics: Thiago Silva, Chelsea, Premier League
Robert Calcutt