Former English Premier League champions Chelsea finished sixth in the just-concluded league season. It was a below-par season for the Blues by their standards, but it was an improvement for them from the previous season.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, the club struggled in the first half of the season, but they picked up by the turn of the year and put up a strong finish in the second half of the campaign. The Blues had one of the next best forms after City and Arsenal in 2024 and that run of form saw a massive increase in demand for Chelsea tickets towards the end of the 2023/24 campaign.
However, despite their upturn in form in the second half of the campaign, there is still a big room for improvement. And of course, the only way to improve is by buying new players.
Where should Chelsea strengthen?
Since American businessman Todd Boehly took over at Chelsea, the club has spent around a billion in transfers, but most of those deals have been quite questionable. They have struggled to make their mark at Stamford Bridge. A lot of young players like Noni Madueke, Mykhalo Mudryk, Nicholas Jackson, Cole Palmer, Benoit Badiashile, and Malo Gusto, just to mention a few, played crucial roles for the Blues last season.
A holistic look at Chelsea’s performance and record shows that they need improvements in attack and defense. The Londoners shipped in 63 goals this season- one of the highest in the top six. Well, it is not a surprise because young players like Badiashile, Trevor Chalobah, and Axel Disasi featured prominently in central defense last season. They had legendary Brazilian Thiago Silva as a mentor, but his presence did not do much for them. Silva was decent in the 31 games that he played. But at the overripe age of 39, you just felt like he could have done a bit more if he was not injured.
Silva has now left the club after the expiration of his contract, and it will be horrendous if Chelsea do not get another defender. They can not get a player with similar experience, but they have to get a proven together, who the younger defenders can work with. The arrival of Tosin Adarabioyo could be key for them due to his vital experience in the Premier League.
At both fullback positions, the Blues look sorted already, as they have the experienced Reece James, who is quite reliable when he manages to stay fit. And when he is not fit, French star Malo Gusto can always come up with the goods.
At left-back, Marc Cucurella has proven that he is quite reliable. Even if he slacks, there is Ben Chillwell, who has a truckload of experience under his belt and can deliver a class performance if he is fully fit.
In the midfield, Chelsea looks decent, but there is room for improvement. Last season, Connor Gallagher had a fine campaign for the Blues, but it is clear that if Chelsea want immediate success, the Englishman cannot help them get to that level. Moreover, there are already talks that Gallagher could exit Stamford Bridge this summer, with Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur seemingly interested.
Chelsea are also willing to sell if they can get up to €50 million. If Chelsea sell Gallagher, they would have to get a good replacement immediately because no other player seems good or solid enough to replace him. Lesley Ugochukwu is yet to get acclimatized to the Chelsea midfield, Romeo Lavia seems like he will not leave the treatment table, and Cesare Casadei is not good enough to become an important player at Chelsea yet. Even with Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, the Blues would have to get in a quality midfielder to replace Gallagher if he leaves.
In the attack, Chelsea were quite decent last season. They scored 77 goals in the Premier League, but on many occasions, it just felt like they could have done more. For one, Manchester City academy product Cole Palmer was Chelsea’s major outlet last season. But what happens if he loses form? The Englishman turned up on most occasions for Chelsea, especially in the second half. But there was no one as creative as him. That’s a dangerous thing for a big club because if he sustains a big injury, they would likely suffer.
So, heading into next season, Boehly and the Chelsea board need to find another player who can come up with the goods when the chips are down.
Meanwhile, Madueke was quite erratic last season. There were times when he showed the kind of quality that made Chelsea snap him up from PSV, but he was largely underwhelming. Nonetheless, he is still young and needs time. Chelsea could risk relying on him going into next season, moreover, they have been risking a lot of things since Boehly took charge of the club.
Then, in the striking position, Chelsea needs a reliable striker. The Blues would probably have gotten more goals than they did if not for Jackson’s notorious profligacy in front of goal. The Senegal international is quite skilful and always gives defenders a tough time marking him. But converting chances, which is the primary job of a striker, was his major issue last season.
Chelsea have already been linked with Napoli star Victor Osimhen, and that would be a major upgrade if they can pull it off. The only issue with the deal is just Osimhen’s constant injury worries and his €120 million price tag. However, there are still other deadly strikers in the market like Viktor Gyokeres and Dusan Vlahovic, who would also be decent. There have also been strong reports linking Chelsea with Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran.
Chelsea have to make a comeback next season after a disappointing campaign last season. They have a lot of players, but some of them have not lived up to expectations. Towards the end of last season, they showed sparks, and if they can add some new players to the team, it would give them a big boost next campaign.
