Gianliuca Vialli believes Chelsea will be "contenders" for the Champions League.

If there is one disappointment from this past season despite winning the Premier League and League Cup it's the Champions League. Gianluca Vialli believes that next season we will be contenders.

None of us expected to go out against PSG over the two legs as I personally believed that on paper we were the better team. It all comes down to who performs on the day and it's safe to say that Chelsea did not and it cost us.

As with any summer, it's always interesting to see who comes into the club and who leaves as Jose Mourinho looks to improve his options to make the squad stronger. Once the new season gets underway and the transfer window closes, we will have a much better idea of where we stand.

So to Gianluca Vialli and his opinion that Chelsea will be up there as one of the contenders to win the trophy next season; the only trophy missing from Jose Mourinho's impressive haul at Stamford Bridge.

He said:

“Chelsea will be up there with the best teams in Europe very soon. Next year they will be contenders.

They’ve got the foundations, they’ve got the potential and they have a great manager. 

Out of all the English teams, they are the best at defending – I think this is a problem for English teams in Europe.

They [English teams] lack solidity defensive wise and it’s a bit of a problem. 

The English game is fantastic to watch because anything can happen, but when you go into Europe you have to be tighter.”

I really hope that Vialli is right. I would love to see us win the Champions League under Mourinho as he deserves it for everything he has done for our club from when he first took over in 2004 to now.

This past year, it was all about the Premier League having not won it for five years so now that has been won, the focus will switch to retaining the League next year but to also make a major step forward in the Champions League to become as Vialli says contenders.

With two or three big signings in key areas to strengthen our squad, I see no reason why we cannot put together a real challenge next time around!