Aston Villa and England striker Ollie Watkins claims that he's heard something about Chelsea this season that he completely disagrees with.

It's been another turbulent season at Stamford Bridge, which finished with Chelsea sealing sixth in the Premier League despite spending most of the year in mid-table. As for the cup competitions, the Blues were League Cup runners-up and FA Cup semi-finalists.

All eyes are now on the club to see what happens with head coach Mauricio Pochettino.

The Evening Standard has reported that Pochettino is scheduled for talks with Chelsea's hierarchy in the coming days as part of an end-of-season review to decide his future. He's halfway into a two-year contract at the club, but will he remain to complete a second season?

However, he's jumped to the defence of Pochettino's side by claiming they've not been bad this year and are on the up.

"People say Chelsea have had a bad year - but I don't think they have. They'll be even stronger [next season]," Watkins said via The Mirror.

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How well the Blues finished the season Chelsea probably wouldn't have wanted the campaign to end given the run of form they put together in the last month.

Since losing 5-0 to Arsenal in April, the Blues responded with five wins and a draw from their final six matches of the season.

If they had a bit longer, they may have been able to catch some of the teams above as well and climb even higher than sixth.

Here below is how the top eight of the Premier League finished:

Position Club Played Points 1 Manchester City 38 91 2 Arsenal 38 89 3 Liverpool 38 82 4 Aston Villa 38 68 5 Tottenham 38 66 6 Chelsea 38 63 7 Newcastle United 38 60 8 Manchester United 38 60 Chelsea fans will hope to see the side keep climbing the table next year and to be around the top-four positions.

In fairness, the Blues should look at it as small progress after finishing 12th in the 2022/23 season.