The Blues are one of the early pacesetters in the league, currently sitting third, just two points behind Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool who are tied on 21 points each.
Frank Lampard’s men are yet to beat any traditional top six side in England, despite their strong start to the season.
The West Londoners were beaten by Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in the second game of the season, and were held to a goalless draw by Manchester United at Old Trafford in October.
Chelsea over the weekend had the chance to go top of the Premier League table with a win over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur but eventually failed to do so with another goalless draw against a top side.
Souness is not convinced with Chelsea yet and insists the West Londoners must start beating the top sides to be considered as title contenders.
“Chelsea as title contenders? I’m not convinced and won’t be until they start beating the big boys, the teams who have won the title in the last few years,” the ex-Liverpool man wrote in his column as per Football–London.
“It’s all very well winning comfortably against Burnley, Sheffield United and Newcastle United as they have recently, but let’s not forget their 2-0 home defeat by Liverpool at the start of the season.”
“That’s the standard that Frank Lampard’s side need to reach to challenge the champions. At best, I’d make them outsiders in this strange season. They should finish in the top four, but I can’t see them pushing to win the league yet.”
“There’s still a few things for Frank to fix before that’s a realistic target for his team.”