Former Chelsea defender Frank Sinclair believes the signings of Blues legend Didier Drogba and fellow forward Diego Costa will be the telling factor in helping secure a fourth Premier League title this season.
Sinclair is convinced Costa’s qualities are ideally suited to top-flight football in England and that Drogba’s influence will be massive.
“Chelsea are so strong and have such a brilliant squad that I can’t see them not winning it,” Sinclair West London Sport.
“Signing Drogba was a masterstroke. He has such great experience and he knows how to win the Premier League.
“He won’t play loads but his influence in the dressing room and around the team will be huge – particularly after losing Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole.
The man likely to keep 36-year-old Drogba out of the starting line-up – Spain striker Costa – is “perfect for the Premier League” according to Sinclair, who progressed through the youth ranks at Stamford Bridge and played 219 games from 1990 to 1998.
“He didn’t do himself justice at the World Cup because he was recovering from injury,” Sinclair added.
“He wasn’t sharp and didn’t look ready. But he was back quite early, had a full pre-season, and has looked the business.
“Costa will torment defenders. He’s aggressive, he can run behind and he has a great goalscoring record.”
Sinclair, now manager of Conference North side Colwyn Bay, is convinced the other main summer buys Cesc Fabregas and Filipe Luis mean the squad is at least as strong as it has been in a decade.
The Blues finished third in the Premier League last season and despite boss Jose Mourinho’s insistence that the club weren’t quite ready to win the title, it was only below-par home displays against Sunderland and Norwich that ultimately cost him a third championship in England.
Sinclair, who also had a three-year spell Chelsea’s opening Premier League opponents Burnley, thinks Mourinho is now ready to complete the hat-trick.
“Chelsea have shown their ambitions with the signings they have made in the summer,” Sinclair said.
“I have seen them a lot in pre-season and although it will take time to completely gel, they have already looked really impressive and improved steadily. Jose will be thrilled with the way things are going.
“It’s the best squad since last time he was here. There is so much competition and picking a starting eleven is incredibly tough. Any one of about 18 players could easily be in the starting line-up for the first game.”
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This post was last modified on 18/08/2014