Former Chelsea star John Obi Mikel has warned that the club’s owners will eventually recognise they “messed up” with their transfer decisions, insisting the current squad is not strong enough to challenge for the Premier League title.

Speaking on the Obi One Podcast, the ex-Nigeria captain pointed to inexperience and poor squad planning as key reasons behind Chelsea’s early struggles this season. Enzo Maresca’s side have collected just eight points from their opening six league games and are battling a mounting injury crisis ahead of their Champions League clash against Jose Mourinho’s Benfica.

“Inexperience. That’s what you can conclude,” Mikel said when reflecting on Chelsea’s recent defeat to Brighton. “It’s another stupid, needless mistake. We needed to strengthen at the back, get a proper striker, a centre-back, and a goalkeeper. They’ll probably look at it at the end of the season and realise they messed up.”

The 2012 Champions League winner stressed that while Chelsea’s attack is capable of creating chances, their defensive frailties make it “impossible” to compete for the league crown. Levi Colwill’s absence has left the backline exposed, and with Trevoh Chalobah also sidelined ahead of the clash with Liverpool, Mikel believes the team are “not in a good place.”

“Our defence is nowhere near good enough to win the Premier League. Strikers win you games, but defenders win you titles,” he added. “We’ve given away too many red cards, and once we go down to ten men, there’s not much you can do again.”

Mikel’s blunt assessment echoes the frustrations of many Chelsea fans, who have grown increasingly critical of the new ownership’s handling of transfers and squad building.