Alonso fears squad depth has cost Chelsea this season

Chelsea full-back Marcos Alonso fears that a lack of squad depth has cost Chelsea the Premier League title this season.

The Blues’ have barely put up a fight to retain their title this season, and are struggling to qualify for the Champions League, where they currently sit outside the top four in the Premier League table.

Asked what has been the problem this season, Alonso said, as reported by MailOnline;

It’s difficult as there are so many games this year and we have not got the deepest squad, maybe, and we have had new players this year.

We can only look forward and start fighting for fourth spot in the Champions League and try to win the FA Cup.

Chelsea have an FA Cup quarter-final game against Leicester on Saturday so it isn’t yet impossible for Antonio Conte to leave (presumably) at the end of the season without winning more silverware.

However the Premier League is obviously the priority. Continuing, Alonso said;

I think there’s been a lot of positives in both games against Barcelona and I think we have to show this desire in the next games and make sure that we win every game.

We showed until the last minute that we can play against any team and now we have eight finals and we have to make sure we play Champions League next year.

One of the biggest fears Chelsea face in not qualifying for the Champions League is the exodus of elite players, with Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois likely to leave without Champions League football.

The pair are both stalling on signing new deals and Real Madrid are interested in both, while Paris Saint-Germain have made discreet overtures about a summer move for Courtois.