Opinion: Chelsea hierarchy's low expectations may hurt their Premier League hopes | OneFootball

Reports suggest Chelsea have "zero expectations" of winning the Premier League title this season, but this could be an opportunity they would not want to miss.

Sky Sports claim that the Chelsea hierarchy do not see the league title as a realistic target for this season.

Instead, they plan on building a squad for the next five to ten years, as they believe Arsenal and Manchester City remain the favourites to win the league.

On one hand, this is a sensible approach. This eases the pressure on their very young squad, while allowing them the time and space to build for the future.

IMAGO / Visionhaus

The report mentions that Chelsea want "a squad with six or seven players as good as Estevao and Palmer".

This would please any Chelsea fan, of course.

On the other hand, it is also very clear that the competition is much more forgiving this term compared to the last two seasons.

IMAGO / Action Plus

Less competition for Premier League title this season

After 12 games, Chelsea were third on the table with 22 points last season. This time, Enzo Maresca's side sit second with 23 points.

There is only a slight improvement, but the biggest difference is the competition.

There were five teams with 22 points or more after 12 games in each of the last two seasons, and only three in this campaign.

This is partly due to Liverpool's current struggles, and Chelsea should take advantage of it.

IMAGO / Action Plus

Manchester CIty remain a threat with Erling Haaland's goalscoring prowess capable of winning them games single-handedly, but like Chelsea, they have had inconsistency issues.

Arsenal are leading the race and are six points ahead of Chelsea, but the gap could be cut to three by Sunday.

The Chelsea hierarchy's reported decision to prioritise team building for the future has proved to be quite effective.

That said, it may be worth the risk to assess the January transfer window as an opportunity to bolster the squad for the title race instead of just searching for more young talents to develop.

At right-back, for example, Malo Gusto and Reece James are the only two natural options, and they both have to play in midfield at times.

Bringing in a backup player for this position, even on a loan deal, would increase Maresca's rotation option.