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Likely strengths
For all the summer panic from supporters about the perceived lack of improvement in the squad, Chelsea are undoubtedly in a better position than they were six months ago. They have a new owner, ridding the club of first the uncertainty and then the links with an individual who was implicated so strongly in the Russia-Ukraine war. Most of those individuals most closely associated with Roman Abramovich have also been moved on.
And the likely starting XI is at least as strong as last season. Chelsea have lost some strength in depth (more on that shortly), but in swapping Antonio Rudiger and Romelu Lukaku for Kalidou Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling, they have freshened up the team and added two high-class players.
Chelsea were also excellent for long periods of last season; that matters. They drew too many games for Thomas Tuchel’s liking (and seven of those draws came in games they led in, which will annoy him), but Chelsea lost only six league matches in 2021-22, five less than Tottenham and seven less than Arsenal. That was built upon their defensive stability – 33 league goals conceded.
The team may naturally improve with the availability of players. Mateo Kovacic (16 league starts), N’Golo Kante (21), Reece James (22) and Ben Chilwell (6) all missed sections of last season. At wing-back in particular, that should make a massive difference. Chilwell and James started only five games together in the Premier League and Champions League last season. Chelsea won four and drew the other, scoring 18 goals and conceding once. Having those two fit makes Chelsea tick.
Likely weaknesses
The signing of Koulibaly is great business, but he is only a replacement for the imperious Rudiger. With Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta both reportedly very keen on moving to Barcelona, and Andreas Christensen already there, Chelsea are in an awkward situation. Either Tuchel denies them their moves, and risks upsetting them, or the club will need to move quickly in the transfer market.
If Azpilicueta left, Trevoh Chalobah would be a starter in a back three and Malang Sarr would be the next cab off the rank. They need more defenders, hence the flurry of rumours linking them with readymade Premier League options.
The lack of obvious centre forward need not be a problem if Chelsea are intending to go with a fluid, hybrid attacking system, but they would surely have liked to have signed a guaranteed goalscoring striker (hence the interest in Robert Lewandowski). Only three Chelsea players scored more than three league goals last season; one of them has left. Kai Havertz is still not prolific – 12 goals in his last Bundesliga season, 12 goals in 56 league appearances in England.
Which probably makes Sterling the bellwether of Chelsea’s season. His arrival is laced with concerns, given Chelsea’s inability to get Christian Pulisic, Timo Werner and Lukaku firing. You can doubt each of those players individually, but they succeeded elsewhere and were signed for fees of around £210m. The worry is that Sterling is used as a pure winger rather than the wide-forward-cum-penalty-box-poacher that made him so dangerous at Manchester City.
That’s because there is far too much pressure on Mason Mount to be Chelsea’s one-man attacking band. Last season, Mount was Chelsea’s top league goalscorer, top assist provider, most regular shot taker and most regular chance creator. It’s ludicrous that an elite team were so reliant upon one player’s production, particularly given how much Chelsea have spent on attackers.
Summer business
Chelsea have made two superb signings. It is rare that one elite Premier League club sells to another, but in Sterling Chelsea have a game-changer. I’ll repeat that I’m slightly worried about him being misused, but hopefully Tuchel proves that to be misguided.
Koulibaly may not be an upgrade on fan favourite Rudiger; time will tell. But he is one of the golden centre-backs of European football and looks made for life in England – fast, strong, tall, leads by example.
But after that, the headlines have focused on who Chelsea didn’t sign, not who they did. Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembele, Raphinha, Richarlison and Jules Kounde, whose move was predictably hijacked by Barcelona. This sort of thing doesn’t have to matter, but it does suggest that Tuchel isn’t happy with his attacking options. Speaking of which…
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“I am far from relaxed,” Tuchel said last week. “I think we deserved to lose [to Arsenal] because we were simply not good enough. We were absolutely not competitive. The worrying part is the level of commitment, physically and mentally, for this match was not the same, it was far higher for Arsenal than us. It was simply not enough.”
It doesn’t scream of a manager who is happy with his lot, and we have heard Tuchel say similar things when at Paris Saint-Germain. He clearly believes that the new owner has not been quick or ruthless enough in providing him with the options that he thinks he merits after taking Chelsea to six finals and two top-four finishes in 18 months. Doesn’t this usually end one way at Chelsea?
Prediction
I can’t quite believe I’m doing this, but are we due a Chelsea meltdown season? Maybe. 5th
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The post Chelsea predictions 2022-23: What fans can expect from the Premier League season with Sterling the key appeared first on inews.co.uk.
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