Chelsea's players have been warned by the signing of Timo Werner that only winning the Premier League will count as a success, according to Jamie Carragher.
A £53million deal has been put in place with RB Leipzig to sign Werner and Chelsea will shortly tie up the loose ends, and such a big-money signing sends a powerful message not just to the club's Premier League rivals but also their own squad, says Carragher.
Frank Lampard has been rebuilding a youthful team this season following last year's transfer ban and they are currently in a strong position to claim one of the Champions League places, but that level of success might not be tolerated for long.
Not only has owner Roman Abramovic splashed out for Werner, he has also completed a £37m deal for Ajax forward Hakim Ziyech and the club will now look to continue their currently unrivalled spree by signing both Leicester defender Ben Chilwell and Bayer Leverkusen's star playmaker Kai Havertz.
That means young stars like Tammy Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic will have to up their game next season, with Werner's signing providing the spark.
'I think it will give everyone a boost,' Carragher told the Telegraph.
'He doesn't come in right now, so no one has to worry right now. It is made easier by two players going on Bosman's. Willian and Pedro.
'I don't think the younger players have to worry too much as it still looks like they will have a front three or four of Pulisic, Abraham, Hudson-Odoi plus Timo Werner coming in.
'I think it will send a message to the rest of the squad that the top four isn't good enough for us, we are going places.
'And with Frank's history at the club, winning titles, European Cups, he is not coming to manage Chelsea to just try and qualify for the Champions League.'
The prolific Werner scored his 26th Bundesliga goal of the season in Leipzig's 2-2 draw with Dusseldorf on Wednesday night.
Chelsea will resume their Premier League campaign at Aston Villa at 4.15pm on Sunday. They currently sit three points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United in the table in a tight race for the top four slots. Sheffield United are just one point adrift of United while Wolves are one point further behind.
kaudeimpu
496
Forget about Harvetz, we already have Pulisic, Ziyech and Barkley who are capable enough to in his position, whilst Mount, Hudson Odoi and RLC can come in as substitute. Sign both Chiwell and Opamecano.
BrazilForever36
446
Very true.. but it may take atleast a season to fit the players into their right places. We can expect multiple titles in the next 2-3 years. 💙
Younus_Unik
374
UEFA thought banning us was a punishment, but it was an opportunity to learn to spend money! In fact, we should be banned every 2 years
fukacktuz
316
All Team players secretly saying, Playing against Chelsea next be like fight Lion without weapons......
konabdrsuz
303
my best 11 for 2020 / 2021 season
luwisclive
220
leave us carragar focus on Liverpool,is 53m a record signing, people have invested a lot more without even making the top 4
Nesaiknruy_Legend
165
If hes coming with an winning mentality to the club then he 100% was the right man even though I had my doubts about how we will use him but I believe Frank will use his ability the right way...