The west London club have been on an upwards trajectory since bringing in the Italian head coach and sit third in the top-flight after 12 games.
They are level on 22 points with Arsenal – who are seen as genuine title challengers and are only one point behind champions Manchester City.
Liverpool currently have an eight-point lead at the top of the table but Cole has outlined why Chelsea should not be ruled out of the trophy race.
Cole, who won three Premier League titles during his seven-year stint at Chelsea from 2003 to 2010, has highlighted the club’s spending power in the January transfer window as one reason why they are title contenders.
The 43-year-old also says that Chelsea being in the Conference League has boosted their title chances, because it allows key stars to rest and avoid injury, while allowing squad players more game time and space to improve.
For Chelsea to win this season’s Premier League title, though, Cole says the west Londoners must be no less than six points behind the league leaders by the time we get to January.
‘I think if they can be at the turn of the year after the Christmas period, if they’re within six points I think [Chelsea] can mount a title challenge,’ Cole told the Daily Mail. ‘Because knowing the owners, I think they’ll go in and have a go again [in the January transfer window].
‘But that is really remarkable that I’m saying that because there were times last year when you were searching for answers and we didn’t know where they’d end up.
‘The best thing in Chelsea’s favour is playing in the UEFA Conference League. There is such a disparity in the level that they’re able to keep all their players fit and ready, so if they suffer injuries like they have already a little bit, players are coming in and they’re ready to hit the ground running.
‘You wouldn’t be able to do that if they were in the Champions League and maybe even the Europa League and still compete.
‘There’s a lot of positives and it’s allowing players like [Mykailo] Mudryk, [Kiernan] Dewsbury-Hall, [Benoit] Badiashile to all get game time, all develop, all learn, because they need games.
‘Everyone is improving, the manager, the players, everything is calmer. There’s an opportunity to get back to the top.’
