'You need that': Paul Merson names the two positions Chelsea need to strengthen this summer

They have just beaten West Ham United 5-0 in the Premier League and are now seventh in the table, putting them on course for Europa Conference League qualification.

However, for the majority of the season, they have not performed at a high enough level.

Mauricio Pochettino‘s men have been nowhere near the race for top four, so it is clear that Chelsea could do with one or two quality additions in the summer.

Paul Merson on what Chelsea need to do this summer

With Thiago Silva leaving Chelsea at the end of the season, Merson thinks that the Blues have to bring in an experienced central defender to replace the Brazilian.

The Arsenal legend also feels that Chelsea need to improve their attack to close the gap with his former club and Manchester City.

In his latest column for Sky Sports, Merson said: “They’ve got to bring in experience in the summer. It looks like Thiago Silva’s going, he’s their main experienced player.

“So they’ve got to add to that, you need that if you want consistency when things aren’t going too well, and they can just calm it down a bit. They probably need an experienced centre-half to take Silva’s place, and they could do with another centre-forward too.”

Which experienced defender should Chelsea sign to replace Thiago Silva?

With Chelsea having such a young squad, they probably do need to bring in an experienced centre-half if the club do decide that they want to replace Silva with a new player.

Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt would not be a bad option and the Dutchman has recently been linked to Chelsea.

At 24, De Ligt is obviously not a veteran like Silva yet, but he has played for three of the biggest clubs in European football in Bayern, Juventus and Ajax. He has also captained the last of that trio and earned 44 caps for the Netherlands.

If Chelsea have the opportunity to sign him this summer, it is a bit of a no-brainer.

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