Chelsea risk falling into same trap as Manchester United by targeting Man City players

The last team to take the Premier League title from Manchester City or Liverpool was Chelsea, back in 2017, but they have failed to top 74 points in any of the five seasons since.

So much has changed in the Premier League since 2017, with Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola both comprehensively putting their mark on English football since. Between City and Liverpool, the two sides have recorded points tallies of 92, 93, 97, 98, 99 and 100 in the last five years, sharing the title and also seven domestic trophies between them.

It's no wonder that other sides are starting to copy the two standout leaders to try and catch them, with Chelsea's transfer activity this summer a perfect — and very literal — case in point.

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Last summer, when City spent £100m on Jack Grealish, Chelsea spent effectively the same amount to re-sign Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan. While Grealish spent a slow-but-steady season of gradual improvement, Lukaku failed to justify his transfer fee and has now re-joined Inter Milan on loan for a fee of just £10m.

In fairness to Chelsea, they have so far kept faith with Thomas Tuchel when they have previously discarded managers after trophy-less seasons, although the Champions League won last year probably gave him some credit, as well as the change in ownership possibly bringing in a change in managerial strategy.

Because if new owner Todd Boehly looks at how to catch City and Liverpool, allowing one talented manager to build a squad over a number of years would be a good place to start.

And it seems Boehly is taking a leaf out of City's book in the transfer market, too. They have been linked with Leeds' Raphinha,