Carlo Ancelotti has warned Antonio Conte that he must make big improvements to his Chelsea team, if they must compete in the Champions League next season.
Conte led the Blues to the Premier League title in his first season in charge and was helped mostly by their absence from European competition.
Having lost John Terry, Nathan Ake and Asmir Begovic, Conte has allowed three reserve players to leave the club, while Antonio Rudiger and Willy Caballero have been signed.
Ancelotti believes they need to do more to improve the quality and quantity of the squad.
“The first thing, the most obvious, is that Chelsea will replace Leicester in the Champions League and the difference in quality seems evident to me,” he told Corriere dello Sport.
“But the Blues must step forward: last year Conte won the Premier League by using the same players all the time, that team had great quality and coped well, having to compete only in the league.
“Now for the Champions League he has to buy a lot and well, he needs other players of a higher level.
“The competitiveness will increase next season for a number of reasons: the return of the big Brits like Chelsea and Manchester United, the desire for redemption from the likes of Barcelona and Bayern, Juve’s desire to finally raise that cup after losing so many finals, and above all the idea of Real Madrid winning a third in a row.
“The goal for all these teams, and also Paris Saint-Germain, is the semi-finals.”
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