As we enter the final legs of the season, with Chelsea one step away from silverware and 2 games away from Champions League qualification, one has to say that it has been a stellar season for the blues. Frank Lampard came into the job last summer with little expectations and plenty of hope, but he seems to have delivered on most counts. After a tumultuous but successful year under Maurizio Sarri, Chelsea became a bore to watch and were labouring to victories instead of coasting to them. Lampard has done well to reverse that trend and Chelsea are now an exciting team, full of vibrant youth and attacking flair. However, as most youthful attacking teams do, Chelsea has blown hot and cold this season. The league started on a sour note with a 4-0 drubbing against United, but Chelsea did well to recover from that. Lampard won the PL manager of the month in October as Chelsea went on a 6 game winning streak in the league between September and November. Sadly, that was followed by a 14 game run in the league where they only won 4 times and lost 7 as well as a 3-0 hammering at home in the Champions League Round of 16 vs Bayern Munich.
However, since the restart Chelsea have been electrifying at times, beating the likes of City and United in the FA Cup. But to match that there have been some woeful defeats to West Ham and Sheffield United. But finally, after all the chips are laid down, Chelsea could get a trophy and finish 3rd in the league in their first season under Frank Lampard with a transfer ban and that is commendable.
Trusting the Youth
Through both circumstances and choice, Chelsea has adopted a new strategy this season and have finally started to trust their youth. This started from their bold managerial choice. After years of riding the manager merry go round and sacking coaches on a whim, Chelsea made an appointment for the long term. Chelsea was known for picking successful and experienced European coaches like Ancelotti, Mourinho, Conte and Sarri, but this time they went with the more youthful and pulsating choice in Frank Lampard. Frank Lampard has handed 8 Chelsea academy debuts this season, more than any other manager for the club in their history. Part of this is down to Chelsea’s transfer ban that they suffered due to breaching UEFA rules, but they finally found a manager who can guide and develop their successful youth prospects. The likes of Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori have grown into the team this season and are set to be first-team regulars while the youngsters such as Reece James and Billy Gilmour have shown plenty of promise as well.
Who they have signed
Chelsea has already made significant headway in the transfer market to try and close the gap to the Top 2. Hakim Ziyech was signed all the way in February with little competition and to add to that Timo Werner was poached from under Liverpool’s nose last month for a bargain fee in the region of 50 million pounds. Christian Pulisic has done well this season to replace some of Eden Hazards attacking threat, but Chelsea was still missing some of that firepower which they have now acquired. Timo Werner scored 34 goals and bagged 13 assists last season for RB Leipzig and Hakim Ziyech has been Ajax’s player of the year for the past 3 seasons. They both will significantly boost Chelsea’s chances next season, but it will be interesting to see how Lampard might set up with these 2 in the side.
At Leipzig, Werner was used in a front two next to a traditional target man such as Youssef Poulsen and for Chelsea he can be used in a front 2 alongside Giroud. However, Frank Lampard’s preferred choice of formation this season has been a 4-2-3-1 and that might see Werner be used up top as the only number 9. Unfortunately, Werner is not great with his back facing the goal and does not have great hold up play. Hence, he might struggle initially playing as the lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 system like he did with Germany in the 2018 World Cup. Instead, he could be used on the left and play as an inside forward that looks to get behind the defence which is similar to the role Aubameyang has at Arsenal. Ziyech is also a tactically fluid player that can play both as a CAM or from the right and helps to give Lampard some different options in attack.
What Other Areas Need Strengthening
It is clear and obvious that while Chelsea has already made 2 attacking signings, their major problems are in defence. They have conceded 49 goals this season in the league (as many as Crystal Palace) and that is not going to help them win titles. In Rudiger, Zouma and Tomori Chelsea have decent Center Backs but none of them is elite like Laporte and Van Dijk and that is what you need to win championships. Similarly Left Back is also an area of concern with Marcos Alonso not being viable in a back 4 and Emerson Palmieri on his way out and the likes of Nicolas Tagliafico and Ben Chilwell from Leicester are being touted as possible targets. However, the major problem area is undoubtedly between the sticks. Kepa Arrizalabalga was signed for a world record 72 million pounds and to say he has been a disappointment has been an understatement. He has the lowest save percentage amongst goalkeepers (56%) in the Premier League and to make matters worse he has the highest difference between goals against and expected goals on target. He has conceded 42 goals this season but has an Expected Goals on Target of 33.5, this means he has conceded 8.5 goals more than he should have based on the shots he has faced. Chelsea has been linked with the likes of Andre Onana, Dean Henderson and Jan Oblak and it is a position they must strengthen if they are to be serious threats to the title.
Kai Havertz to Chelsea?
However, despite their defensive deficiencies, it is being reported that Chelsea is the front runners to sign Kai Havertz, the prince of German football. It would take a significant fee upwards of 70 million pounds to afford the Bayer Leverkusen man but if they can do then there is no reason why they should not sign him. Critics have questioned that Chelsea should forget signing him and look at defensive options instead but that shouldn’t necessarily be the case. In an ideal world, they should have the finances to buy all their primary targets, but even if they don’t, they shouldn’t turn down the opportunity to sign a player of Havertz’s quality and potential.
Chelsea needs to be realistic, they will not win the league next year and it is near on impossible to cover that 30 point gap in one season. But if they can get their 3 attacking signings in this window (Werner, Havertz and Ziyech) it will allow them to adjust to the pace and physicality of England throughout the next season. Then along with additions in goal and in defence which will be made in the next 3 transfer windows, Chelsea can mount a serious title challenge in 2021-22. This is precisely the same thing which Klopp did at Liverpool. His first 3 singings were all attacking ones in Mane, Salah and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain. Once those 3 were settled in the league and the team, Klopp went big to get Van Dijk, Fabinho and Alisson and then instantly Liverpool were title contenders.
The transfer ban last season may have been a blessing in disguise and has allowed Chelsea to have enough money in the bank to spend in this year’s market where there is little competition. And the way the likes of Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech have set up this Chelsea team, it seems like they will have the best chance to break the Liverpool and Manchester City hegemony that has ruled over England over the past few years.
All About Football 