Jamie Carragher claims none of Chelsea's rivals' signings would get into Mourinho's starting XI

I am yet to see a signing that has made me think ‘wow’: Jamie Carragher

Jamie Carragher has claimed that Jose Mourinho shouldn’t be too worried about Chelsea’s rivals summer spending, as none of their new signings are good enough to get into his starting XI. The comments come after Blues boss Mourinho admitted that the lack of transfer activity at the Stamford Bridge could be dangerous ahead of their new season.

Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool have spent big money to rectify any issues with their squad this season. The three clubs in addition to Arsenal and Tottenham have spent £252.2 million so far in this summer transfer window to close the gap on Chelsea, which seems to have troubled the Portuguese tactician who thinks that he will have a harder time winning the title with an almost identical squad to the previous campaign.

Raheem Sterling moved from Anfield to Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium for a record transfer fee of £49 million, while Liverpool spent the money by bringing in Christian Benteke from Aston Villa and Roberto Firmino from Hoffenheim. Manchester United have splashed the cash on the signings of Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Matteo Darmian as they look to build on their fourth place finish last season, and Arsenal have made only one addition to their squad this summer – poaching Petr Cech from Chelsea on a £11 million deal.

Carragher feels none of these signings would get into Chelsea’s starting lineup, and the Liverpool legend wrote about it in his column for the Daily Mail.

"The spree has clearly irritated Jose Mourinho but he should relax: not one of the players who his rivals have bought would get in Chelsea’s starting line-up.

"It doesn’t matter whether you are talking about Bastian Schweinsteiger, Raheem Sterling, Petr Cech or Christian Benteke; none of them are at a level where they would waltz into Stamford Bridge and take the place of those who helped Chelsea become champions last season.

“I’ve been watching the action in the window unfold and I am yet to see a signing that has made me think ‘wow’; for all the money that our clubs now have, we cannot say they have bought someone from the elite."

‘Having such a well-known team could lead to complacency’

Chelsea have not made wholesale changes in terms of transfers to their squad

The former Liverpool defender agreed that Chelsea’s inactivity might hurt them in the long run, as they have a weaker squad this season in comparison to the one before. He admitted that Chelsea’s previous transfer activity has left Mourinho with lesser-quality players on the bench, and also offered his thoughts on new signings Falcao and Begovic.

“Not buying players to improve their first team isn’t an issue. Not buying players to improve the strength of the squad, on the other hand, is a problem. Having such a well-known team could lead to complacency.

“Over the past year, the depth of their squad has diminished. I wasn’t a huge fan of Andre Schurrle, but he would pop up with a goal or key contribution. Juan Cuadrado, his replacement, has so far been an expensive mistake and given nothing. How much will Radamel Falcao offer? I never saw any sign during his season at Old Trafford of the player who terrorised Chelsea in the European Super Cup final and if Costa’s hamstring issues persist, does Falcao have it in him to score 10-15 goals? I’m not sure.

“Asmir Begovic has left Stoke to become Courtois’ deputy but is inferior to Cech. Mourinho needs a left back but he won’t find anyone with pedigree like Filipe Luis — who 12 months ago arrived having played in a Champions League final — to provide back up for Cesar Azpilicueta.”