Former Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho has backed the Blues to challenge Liverpool and Manchester City for the Premier League title next season.
The Blues ended the 2019/20 campaign in fourth place in the table meaning that they will again play in the Champions League in 2020/21.
The season was also Frank Lampard’s first in charge of the club after arriving from Derby County last summer, after the departure of Maurizio Sarri.
The former midfielder has already made moves in the transfer window, bringing Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner to the club. But the Blues are not done there, with names such as Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell included on the list of players they want this summer.
15 points separated Chelsea in fourth and second-placed Man City in the table, with a further 18 points between them and Liverpool in first.
However, Carvalho has seen enough from Lampard’s team to predict that they can close that gap next season.
“Given he lost Eden Hazard, so far he's done very well,” He told the Daily Mail .
“He achieved a Champions League place for next season which of course is very important, and has brought in young, talented players.
“Frank is building a very good team and I expect next year he can fight for the title with those players, for sure.”
Chelsea can now concentrate on their preparations for next season, which starts in mid-September, after crashing out of the Champions League on Saturday night.
The Blues were unable to stage a comeback against German Champions Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the competition, falling to a 7-1 aggregate defeat.
