Chelsea legend Gianluca Vialli has backed his former club to challenge for the Champions League next season, and believes defensive frailties are hampering other Premier League clubs facilitating success in Europe.
While the English champions romped to their domestic title, they suffered a disappointing exit from the Champions League at the last 16 stage of the competition following defeat to PSG – a failure that will have to be addressed by Blues manager Jose Mourinho next season.
England failed to boast a quarter-final representative in Europe’s primary cup competition for the second time in three seasons, and Vialli, although predicting a strong Chelsea showing next campaign, insists a general drop in defensive levels is responsible for the malaise of others in England's top tier.
“Chelsea will be up there with the best teams in Europe very soon. Next year they will be contenders,” the Italian told Kick Off.
“They’ve got the foundations, they’ve got the potential and they have a great manager. Out of all the English teams, they are the best at defending – I think this is a problem for English teams in Europe.
“They [English teams] lack solidity defensive wise and it’s a bit of a problem. The English game is fantastic to watch because anything can happen, but when you go into Europe you have to be tighter.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea are being heavily linked with a move for Monaco striker Radamel Falcao in an attempt to strengthen their attacking reinforcements to aid an assault on next season’s Champions League trophy.
The Colombian striker endured a season to forget at Manchester United, scoring just four goals, but Vialli believes Mourinho’s man-management skills can get the best out of a striker who was once regarded as Europe’s most lethal marksman.
Vialli said: “Knowing how good Mourinho is at getting the best out of his players, and Falcao is an extraordinary striker, they will be even stronger.
“Can he play with or instead of Diego Costa? I don’t know. But definitely the more great players you have in your side, the better.”
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