The former Blues star says the pair have exceeeded his expectations since arriving at Stamford Bridge and believes Jose Mourinho has worked the transfer market superblytheir performances this season and believes the Premier League trophy will be heading to Stamford Bridge as long as Jose Mourinho's men avoid serious injuries to key players.
The Blues top the table by four points from Southampton after winning nine of their first 11 matches, with many suggesting they could go on to match or even better the achievement of Arsene Wenger's legendary 'Invincibles' by maintaining their unbeaten record throughout the season.
Costa - scoring nine goals in 10 appearances - and Fabregas - notching nine assists in 11 games - have both played key roles in Chelsea's blistering start, and Nevin readily concedes that the Spain duo have exceeded his expections so far at Stamford Bridge.
"Cesc Fabregas is not the sort of high intensity player that Mourinho likes, but he’s been in sparkling form, much better than I thought," the Scot told Goal.
"I’d seen bits of Diego Costa, but there is more to him than I’d given him credit for. He’s a natural goalscorer, links play very well and his quick and strong. He bullies defenders like old-fashioned strikers and hassles them into making mistakes.
"They are rightly hot favourites to land the title and if they can keep most of their players fit, it should be theirs.
"Chelsea have not had the injuries suffered by their rivals. It can all change so quickly. Imagine losing Eden Hazard and John Terry for long spells, for instance. Mourinho is right not to get carried away with the start."
Nevin is also full of praise for Chelsea's other summer signings and believes they have adapted their approach in the transfer market to the requirements of Financial Fair Play superbly.
"Bringing back Thibaut Courtois from his loan spell at Atletico Madrid was not a gamble because he’s been one of the best goalkeepers in the world for 18 months, but there were some gambles that have paid off," he added.
"Didier Drogba was a gamble, but has lasted games better than I thought and has chipped in with crucial goals.
"Unlike their title rivals, Chelsea have a balanced squad. Anyone can attract big names if they’ve got the money, but to get the balance right is the difficult bit.
"In these days of Financial Fair Play (FFP) Mourinho has worked the transfer market really well.
"He got fantastic money for Juan Mata last season, and then David Luiz and Romelu Lukaku during the summer."
No comments:
Post a Comment