Alan Shearer and Ian Wright claim Chelsea won’t compete for Premier League title unless they ‘spend more’ and sign new striker

Alan Shearer and Ian Wright have played down Chelsea’s chances of winning the Premier League this season and claim the Blues need to ‘spend more’ and sign a new striker to compete with Manchester City and Liverpool.

Thomas Tuchel’s side, who finished third last season, kicked off their 2022-23 campaign with a 1-0 win over Everton on Saturday.

The 2021 Champions League winners were not at their best in a scrappy affair at Goodison Park but Jorginho’s penalty on the stroke of half-time separated the sides.

Tuchel handed starts to new summer signings Kalidou Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling and also gave a debut to former Brighton defender Marc Cucurella.

Chelsea spent almost £150m on the three signings but both Shearer and Wright believe further spending is needing for the Blues to compete for this season’s Premier League title.

Manchester City and Liverpool pulled well clear of their domestic rivals last season and both clubs have strengthened this summer, with Erling Haaland and Kalvin Phillips joining City and Darwin Nunez moving to Anfield.

Asked to rate Chelsea’s title chances following their win at Everton, former Arsenal striker Wright told BBC’s Match of the Day: ‘I think they’re going to have to [spend more], especially when you see what Man City are doing and how strong Liverpool are.

‘Raheem Sterling is a fantastic signing, Marc Cucurella may have cost more than they wanted but he was sought after by Man City as well. He’s a very good player, a quality player.

‘But they’re going to need to spend more, without a doubt. They need a focal point in that team.’

Premier League legend Shearer added: ‘I think Chelsea have made some good signings but they still need a central forward.

‘I know they’ve got [Armando] Broja but it might