Chelsea next season will be absolutely the team to beat

Ex-Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has tipped the Blues for next season’s Premier League title if Jose Mourinho succeeds Rafael Benitez in the managerial hot seat at Stamford Bridge.

Mourinho is certain to leave his current club Real Madrid as things have turned sour for the Portuguese manager in the Spanish capital and it looks as though he’s avoiding the issue and waging war with the local press to the very end as he has cancelled yet another press conference ahead of today’s Copa del Rey final.

Benitez has already let slip that Roman Abramovich is willing to invest this summer to add the final ingredients to a squad that isn’t far off from challenging for a league title and Villas-Boas believes his old club will be favourites under his old boss.

On Chelsea’s title challenging credentials, Villas-Boas said:

“I think [they will be favourites].

“Chelsea next season will be absolutely the team to beat, bearing in mind the manager we expect to come in.

“The reference of the team going for the title will come from Chelsea, the other teams will try to put themselves in the frame. Our step at the moment is to get into the Champions League and probably not be title contenders.”