It’s safe to say that Chelsea have not had the best of seasons as Graham Potter finds his side in 10th place with only 31 points. It’s been a season of transition, Todd Boehly replaced Roman Abramovic and Thomas Tuchel was sacked early on in the season, Graham Potter being his successor. We’ve look into Chelsea’s season so far, and what they are missing in order for Potter to make the side a strong force!
The west London side have spent €611.49m in the transfer market so far this season with statement signings such as Enzo Fernandez (€121m), Wesley Fofana (€80.4m) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (€70m) but haven’t been able to make things work as yet. This raises the question, have they spent the money on the correct profiles that their squad require in order to progress, or have they splashed out on name signings rather than looking for compatibility with the squad?
As much as it’s been a rebuild for the operations side of Chelsea, it has also been a rebuild on the pitch with many key positions required. Their two major sales of the summer window were Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku, leaving the centre-forward position free for someone to come in and fill. Tuchel trusted his former player in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, however the transfer could be deemed as a flop as the former Arsenal forward has only scored one league goal in eleven appearances this season. It also didn’t help Chelsea bring down the age of their first team squad, an objective that they have.
Following their inability to sign a top quality centre forward in summer, Kai Havertz has been given the task of leading the line, however has done so very poorly. He ranks in the 49th percentile for non-penalty goals scored this season, netting only five times in 22 matches. Further, he’s not a high chance creator so doesn’t act as a facilitator up front for his team mates, rendering him as one of the worst starting 9s in the league. It won’t be long before Potter begins to utilise new signing David Fofana who has appeared much better in the limited minutes he’s had for the club.
Chelsea have also found themselves having a lack of balance when it comes to wing partnerships. Potter may have many wingers at his disposal, however there aren’t two wingers in the squad that actually complement each other well. Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling have been the two who have been in the side consistently, however the pair are both creative wide players and don’t have the direct goal threat of someone like Marcus Rashford or Gabriel Martinelli. The Chelsea pair are capable of scoring goals, however they aren’t reliable goal scorers and have poor conversion rates.
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Out of the Chelsea front three, there’s only one player (Mason Mount) who ranks above average when measuring if he’s scored more than expected this season, and even so, he’s barely above average. Havertz and Sterling are in the bottom right quarter, they get good chances but are wasteful with them, the worst category to be in. Compare this to Rashford’s and Martinelli’s position in the top left region and there’s a clear gap in ability between the forwards.
Chelsea have got many creative wingers in Mount, Sterling and Mudryk hence need to sign an inside forward / goalscoring winger in summer. Sterling and Mount are too inconsistent to play as one hence they must turn to the market to find a solution. Someone like Marcus Thuram could be an option, a goalscoring forward who can play off the left or down the middle.
At the start of the season, the club failed to address the injury situation at right back. As good as he is, Reece James’ injury problems are worrying, the fullback missed 18 games in the 21/22 season, and has so far missed 16 games this season due to a recurring knee injury. Chelsea struggled with his absence as he is their main source of threat, Potter was forced to use makeshift wingbacks in Azpilicueta and Loftus-Cheek who were nowhere near the level of Reece James. The club have since addressed this, signing Malo Gusto who should turn out to be an excellent deal if he meets his potential.
The main position that Chelsea need strengthening is their midfield. Despite the signing of Enzo Fernandez, Potter will be unable to get the best out of him without a recognised sitting midfielder next to him. This has been an issue for a while as the club failed to bring in a backup for the injury ridden N’Golo Kante, hence there’s no ball winner in midfield who would allow the likes of Fernandez and Jorginho (when he was at the club) to push on and dictate play.
Chelsea attempted to resolve this issue with the signing of Denis Zakaria on loan, however he is not of the profile nor the quality required to play in Chelsea’s midfield alongside Fernandez, further, he too has had his injury issues, missing four games in January due to a hamstring issue. One option for Chelsea is Benfica’s Florentino Luis who performs excellently on our ball-winning midfielder radar chart. The 23 year old Portuguese midfielder already has many admirers, should Chelsea end up signing him, he’d complement Fernandez well and could form a very solid midfield pairing.
The last piece of the puzzle, their centre halves. Their attempt to buy their way to having a good defence has been nothing short of underwhelming so far. The club signed Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile last summer and are yet to see some consistent performances from any of them. After being respected as a ‘world class’ centre back for years, Koulibaly has been the most mediocre of the trio, scoring on his debut and then going on to have some very poor defensive performances. At 31 years of age, he appears to have begun to slow down physically, he can definitely be considered a poor signing thus far.
It’s been difficult to judge the signing of Wesley Fofana. He was brought in for €80.4m in August 2022 but has been injury plagued, missing 20 matches so far this season. In theory, they have an excellent young defender but his injury record is very worrying.
Badiashile has impressed massively in his 5 appearances since joining at the start of January. He looks to be the favoured defender (next to Thiago Silva) and has cemented his space at left centre half. The 21 year old French defender is exactly what Graham Potter wants as his left centre-back. He’s a left footed ball player, making adept at building up from the back down the left channel, as well as playing the switch to the right wide player. His excellent ability on the ball is matched by his defensive work, often dominant in aerial duels and strong into tackles. Chelsea do have a very solid centre-back for years to come in him.
Overall, it’s fair to say that the Chelsea board have failed to spend money on the correct profiles in their two transfer windows so far. The team continue to lack many key positions such as an inside forward, a ball-winning midfielder (destroyer type) and a versatile centre-forward. Until those profiles are addressed, Chelsea should not be considered a title contending side as their team is far too incomplete to do so. However, should the board make the correct decisions in the forthcoming transfer window, they could set themselves back on track very easily.
