It’s all change at Stamford Bridge with new owners and big signings, but can the blue devils thrive after the departure of Roman Abramovich, or will this season be chalked off as a time for adjustment?

Transfer Business

Despite its less than upstanding origins, Roman Abramovich’s money has been one of the critical reasons that Chelsea has been at the top of the English Football food chain since his takeover of the Blue devils in 2003. His departure from the club raised obvious questions about how Chelsea would spend in the future and whether the new owners would be able, or want, to follow the Russian’s spending model. In this window, however, Todd Boehly has displayed his intentions for all to see

Despite having signed Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Tiemoue Bakayoko, if you asked me last week what I thought about Chelsea’s transfer business, I would have described it as half-baked.

Readers may find this strange because Premier League fans will know that Sterling is an elite dribbler, passer and goal scorer who rates in the top 1% of non-penalty xg among wingers in the top five leagues. Koulibaly is essentially a like-for-like replacement for Antonio Rudiger. The Senegalese man is a great dribbler compared to other centre-backs and will offer another passing option in Chelsea’s back three, should Tuchel run the same system as last year.

Finally, Bakayoko is an elite ball winner who bolsters Chelsea’s midfield. Furthermore, all three players fill a need for Chelsea and are outstanding in their respective roles. However, there were still questions that needed to be answered about Thomas Tuchel’s squad.

It had been reported in the press that the German was not happy with the defensive depth in the first team and wanted Boehly to sign at least one more central defender and another wing-back.

It has been reported that Chelsea are looking to sign Wesley Fofana from Leicester City and will beat Manchester City to Marc Cucurella’s signature. Cucurella was quietly one of the premier league’s best wing-backs last year, for which Chelsea are paying Brighton handsomely.

This morning reports came out suggesting a fee of up to £63 million with highly-rated 19-year-old defender Levi Colwill going the other way on loan. The cost shows just how much the Spaniard is rated at Cobham. Tuchel and company will be hoping he has an immediate impact.

The Spanish defender is a smart signing. Despite this, many fans will be scratching their heads as to why Tuchel included the Levi Colwill loan, considering the German’s desire for another centre-back. Colwill is a Cobham graduate who impressed on loan at Huddersfield last season, and many in the Chelsea fan base believe he could at least contribute to the squad at the highest level.

The loan, however, raises concerns that he may become part of a worrying trend of letting promising players leave West London too early, such as Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi, both of whom are thriving away from Stamford Bridge.

Overall, the big-name signings and returning loaned players such as Conor Gallager and Armando Broja put Chelsea in a decent position. Furthermore, should they land Wesley Fofana as well, the Blue devils could kick on this year.

Players to Watch

Trevoh Chalobah

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Due to Antonio Rudiger packing his bags for Madrid, much has been made of the defensive frailties at Stamford Bridge this summer. Although an issue, many around West London seemed to have overlooked Trevoh Chalobah’s promise. This is not surprising as he was playing next to the German and Thiago Silva last year, meaning he was a perenially underrated part of a Chelsea defence that conceded the third-fewest goals last year.

As you would expect from a Cobham-bred centre-back, his passing is outstanding. He completed 91.2% of his passes last year, putting him in the top 9% of all centre-backs in the top five leagues. His progressive passing is even better, ranking in the top 3% of centre-backs when passing into the final third.

On top of this, he is a very effective tackler. He has tackled 64.5% of all players that have dribbled at him over the last year, placing him in the top 10% of all defenders in the top five leagues.

His detractors will argue that these stats are skewed because he plays on one side of a three, which is partly true. However, they also suggest that Tuchel, a man known for being fickle, trusts Chalobah with the ball and with players running at him. The incoming defenders mentioned above may limit his game time, but I think they should stick with him as Chalobah could be a consistent performer for Chelsea for years to come.

Conor Gallagher

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Here stands the prime example of why Chelsea’s loan system works. Gallager was fantastic for Palace last campaign and proved to all those around Stamford Bridge he was ready to be a key contributor this year.

He is a classic box-to-box midfielder, with the ability to create and score going forward and the fitness and know-how to press when out of possession. Last season he ranked in the top 5% for non-penalty goals and non-penalty xg among central midfielders, as well as being in the top 7% for pressures.

His versatility means he will slot perfectly into the Chelsea midfield, whether they decide to play him in a double pivot or on either side of a three. Having said this, he seemed to struggle as part of a similar double pivot playing in the Nations League for England against Italy. This performance mirrored that of Kalvin Phillips on the day, which means it was likely just a bad day at the office rather than anything to be seriously concerned about for the Chelsea faithful.

An exciting season is ahead for the Englishman, and if he performs to the same level as he did at Selhurst Park last year, Chelsea’s midfield could be a danger to oppositions across this season.

Carney Chukwuemeka

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If £20 million for an 18-year-old who started all of 2 games last season for Aston Villa sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. Notice, however, that almost no one in the football universe even batted an eyelid at the figure that the Blue Devils paid or the six-year contract signed on Thursday. That is because Chukwuemeka is an excellent player for his age.

A natural box-to-box player or ten, he was deployed as a six for England under-19s in the euros and still scored three goals and registered two assists in five games. His dribbling is outstanding among his peers, and he has exceptional off-the-ball movement, making him a dangerous creative weapon in any attack.

Whether he will feature that much, if at all, for Chelsea this year is a doubt considering all the players in similar positions that are returning. They may, however, keep him around due to the likes of Ross Barkley and Billy Gilmour expecting to move on before the transfer window slams shut on September 1st 2022.

Whether he plays a lot or not, remember the name because Carney Chukwuemeka will be a future star.

What is a Successful Season?

Perhaps disappointingly for Chelsea fans, 3rd. The consensus around the league is that one of Liverpool or Manchester City will win it.

Chelsea will be hoping to be the next name on the list come May 29th. However, they are probably not the favourites for this, as Spurs have had one of their best transfer windows in recent memory, building on their fantastic form at the end of the 21/22 campaign.

All things considered, I predict they will probably finish the fourth season in 4th place purely because of the turnover around the club in the last few months. This is not just in the first-team squad but also in the board room, which may not seem as significant as those on field, but can definitely have an effect on on-field performance, as we have seen at Manchester United in recent years.

The 22/23 campaign will be one of huge change around Stamford Bridge which, if managed correctly, could set Chelsea up for years of success with stars like Sterling, Mount and Havertz at the helm.

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