Pedro to Chelsea: Is that all they need?

Pedro to Chelsea
I have taken a look at Chelsea a few times already but with their hijack of Pedro Rodriguez, could Chelsea be about to kick start their season into gear?

Well I have talked about how Chelsea are still a top side and that, assuming their form comes back, then they will definitely challenge for the title this season.

However, you can't rely on players to be in form all the time and so Chelsea have had to bite the bullet and go out and sign Pedro.

Will he be a good addition?
Of course he will, we can't tell yet if he will adapt to the Premier League but he is a quality player and has won everything you can win, there is no reason he won't adapt.

From his point of View he is coming to the Champions of England in which he should be in the starting line up and heralded as a marquee signing.

From Chelsea's point of view, he finally adds quality to the team beyond their starting 11 and I think they should start him instead of Willian to begin with. He may take a while to adapt to Mourinho's methods but his experience in closing down from Barcelona should serve him well. 

Is that all they need?

Well, personally, I don't think so. Chelsea can win the league with this team, what they can't and certainly couldn't do before Pedro, is win the Champions league. Pedro helps the squad depth and allows Chelsea to challenge on more fronts, however, they are still lacking in some positions. 

Who do they still need?

To answer this you need to look at the players who can be upgraded, baring in mind that their has to be some squad players as you can't keep world class players happy from the bench.

Strikers

The two strikers can't really be improved. Diego Costa has started slowly but there are only a few players in the world considered better in his position and none of them are remotely available (although they could try for Benzema themselves). Falcao may have lost his way but two years ago, Falcao would make that list of top strikers. Remy is a valuable third striker if he stays.

Midfielders

Despite Fabregas's poor form it is too early to write him off. Hazard is their best player and Oscar is capable of some truly world class play. He is such a useful player to be available with in the squad. Willian, in my opinion, has been improved with the purchase of Pedro and will become a dependable replacement if needed. There are other players such as Moses and Cuadrado that can be improved but the same principle applies that it's about whether they can be improved by players who are actually available.

I do think Chelsea need a box-to-box midfielder. They essentially only have one. That is Ramires. Fabregas sort of plays in that position but isn't really a ball of energy, and now Ramires is being played on the right. While Ramiers has the engine, he lacks quality on the ball, his shooting isn't top class and you can not trust his long passing or dribbling. Moments of genius (the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona) are too few and far between. 

That space next to Matic (who by the way, doesn't need to be improved) should be occupied by an engine, a ball carrier with quality, a Pogba, a Toure or a Verratti. Someone who can control the play from deep and surge forward to join attacks.

Perhaps this is a role reserved for young Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and if it is then I would just play him, play him in all the games, let him learn. Chelsea are a good enough side to win their games with one player who has less experience. If it is costing them games it is not hard to switch him out.

Other than that, again, not many are available now, I think they could have done with going for Schweinsteiger or Khediera. They should now go for Verarrti of PSG but that is unlikely to come off. Whatever they do, this is where they should improve next.

Defenders

While John Stones is the talk of the town, he will not improve Chelsea's defence, he may in the future and that is why he shouldn't think of Chelsea as a place in which he could ruin his career, because he will eventually be filling John Terry's boots. However, he has a long way to go yet and Chelsea don't need him right now, so I don't think there is a need for them to bid too high. 

While some players have started badly, we know they are top defenders and can be sorted out in January if they are still struggling. Zouma is ready to play any position across the back four.

Goalkeepers

Begovic proved he is a worthy replacement to Courtois on the weekend, despite conceding three goals.

Jose Mourinho doesn't seem to be too interested in the Champions League, but there are still players in Chelsea's team that need to be improved, when they are, they can think about joining Europe's elite. Until then Pedro should lift them to join England's elite.