Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville claims he saw signs of progress as Chelsea drew 2-2 against Arsenal at the weekend.

However, speaking on his podcast, the former defender said that manager Mauricio Pochettino must reinforce three positions if the Blues are to compete at the top end of the table:

“Chelsea have shown a blueprint of what the future could look like. They’ve still got a problem up front, they haven’t got a striker, and I still think they’ve got a problem with Thiago Silva’s age.”

“He’s so important for them, but he is 39. And then the goalkeeper… Can he step up to be a good goalkeeper?”

Signing a striker is top of the agenda for Chelsea

Multiple reliable sources have confirmed that the London club are aiming to bring in a new forward when the transfer window reopens in January.

At the moment, the two main targets are Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Brentford’s Ivan Toney. If they can sign either player, the Blues would have fixed one of their major issues.

Will the club buy another goalkeeper or centre-back?

Robert Sanchez’s position in goal is safe for now. Pochettino made a point of supporting the Spaniard following his mistake in the build-up to Declan Rice’s goal against Arsenal:

“We are so happy with him. Of course, he is disappointed and upset with his decision but mistakes happen in football.”

With regards to replacing Thiago Silva. Chelsea already have six centre-halves in the first team squad. Levi Colwill and Benoit Badiashile are the only ones who are fit currently, but Pochettino will also have Axel Disasi, Trevoh Chalbobah and Wesley Fofana available to him when they return to fitness. For that reason, investing in another player in the same position is unlikely.

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