Gary Neville explains why Chelsea may be ‘nearer’ than Man Utd to the Premier League title

Gary Neville has explained why he thinks Chelsea may be “nearer” to a Premier League title challenge than Manchester United, despite the current gulf in their points tallies.

Chelsea have endured a miserable season and currently sit in 11th spot in the Premier League, 17 points adrift of the top four, having spent close to £600m on transfers under their new owners.

Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Bruno Saltor and Frank Lampard have all had a stint in charge and the Chelsea decision-makers are currently conducting a thorough search for a new permanent appointment.

And Neville believes if they get the right person to take the helm, and bring in a striker and goalkeeper, they may be better placed than United to challenge for the title next term.

“Obviously they’re short. They’re short of a manager, they’re short of a centre-forward. I think the goalkeeper could be better,” said Neville on The Overlap.

“But I just thought when I was watching them [against Liverpool], Wesley Fofana the centre-back I thought was fantastic, they’ve got Benoit Badiashile on the bench, Kalidou Koulibaly is obviously a half-decent defender and the two full-backs have got the ability – if they stay fit – to be the best in Ben Chilwell and Reece James.

“I thought the midfield three of Enzo Fernandez, Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante, behind Manchester City’s of Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan, probably the best midfield as a three I’ve seen all season. They were fantastic as a three.

“And then you’ve got Joao Felix and Kai Havertz – now if you put a centre-forward in there…

“They had Mason Mount on the bench, they had Raheem Sterling on the bench, they had loads of others on the bench. Thiago Silva to come back.

“I thought, if you put a proper manager there and you get a couple of decent signings, are they nearer than maybe Manchester United are?

“When you look at Manchester United’s midfield, Marcel Sabitzer, Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes – obviously Casemiro has got to come back in.

“Manchester United need a centre-forward, they need definitely some full-backs and a centre-half as well. So you’re looking at it and thinking, who is actually nearer? Liverpool look a million miles away at the moment.

“Liverpool look like they need a little bit – a lot – of a rebuild. [vs Liverpool], I thought they played pretty well in the game, they were by far the better team.