Essien declares Chelsea as next season's Premier League title winners | OneFootball

Chelsea legend Michael Essien believes his former club can win the Premier League title next season.

The Blues have reached the FA Cup and Champions League finals this season, whilst maintaining a position in the top-four.

Speaking to Ladbrokes, Essien said: "I'm going to say Chelsea win the league next season, based on how good they've looked since Thomas Tuchel has taken over.

"They're my first choice for the title, then it's obviously going to be Man United, Liverpool and Man City who will be right up there with them.

"With the players Thomas Tuchel has got at his disposal, I think he's got all the tools needed to challenge for the title next season. If you look from the goalkeepers to the forwards, they've got big names all over the pitch. They've got it all.

"I love the fact that they've got Thiago Silva at the back, his experience really is vital to that team and he's such a great name the younger players in the squad can learn from. He commands the back line very well, but even without him, they've got Antonio Rudiger, Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen, so they're very strong in that area.

"In terms of where else they could realistically strengthen – I'm not sure, because it's very difficult to go out and find a quality striker available in the market. Plus, I really like Timo Werner, I actually think he's done very well, particularly in recent weeks. He's so tricky to keep up with so if he can start adding goals to his game next season I don't think it's an area Chelsea will need to look at strengthening.

"Even without scoring goals, he's still contributing so much to the team, giving assists to his teammates and playing a vital role in winning games. But as a striker, especially at that price, when you're not scoring, people tend not to look at anything else that you do other than your goal ratio."