"Looks even more out of place now" - Pundit questions Chelsea's 'strange' decision to sign £52m star in the summer transfer window

Former Premier League striker Alan Smith believes Chelsea made a mistake by signing Jamie Gittens. He claims that the left-winger is not an upgrade on Noni Madueke, who moved to Arsenal in the summer.

Speaking to Metro, Smith said that Chelsea are making strange decisions in the transfer market, and the move to sign Gittens looked out of place in the summer. He added that the transfer looks worse now with the signing of Alejandro Garnacho and said:

"Who knows how Chelsea feel when it comes to these comings and goings. Jamie Gittens hasn’t been an upgrade though, he’s just been disappearing up blind alleys, and we’ve not seen the best form from him yet. That was a strange move. It felt unusual at the time, and it looks even more out of place now. But that’s Chelsea at the moment, isn’t it?"

The Blues agreed a £52 million deal with Borussia Dortmund to sign Gittens in the summer. He has played seven matches in all competitions for the club, but is yet to score or assist.

Chelsea are not in the title race, insists Alan Smith

Alan Smith admitted that Enzo Maresca's side impressed against defending champions Liverpool when they won 2-1 at Stamford Bridge earlier this month. However, he does not see them as a part of the title race, and insists that only Arsenal and Manchester City are close to the Reds and told Metro:

"As good as they were against Liverpool the other week, I don’t think Chelsea will be in it. Man City are a bit of an unknown quantity. Maybe we thought they weren’t going to be able to mount a challenge this year. But I think they might hang around and make things difficult for Arsenal and Liverpool. Erling Haaland’s absolutely flying and Rodri is getting back."

"City are still in the conversation for me. But they might be third in line because I still see Arsenal as the favourites. Liverpool were brilliant last season but they’ve got problems, haven’t they? Defensively especially. But I’d say it’s a three-horse race."

Arsenal are on top of the Premier League table with 16 points from their opening seven matches of the season. They have taken over from Liverpool, after the Reds lost back-to-back games in the league, and are now sitting second with 15 points.

Manchester City are fifth with 13 points, while Tottenham and Bournemouth are sitting in the top 5 with 14 points each.