What can we expect from Chelsea next season?

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Photo: @ChelseaFC

It's been two years since Chelsea football club was taken over by the consortium group led by Todd Boehly & Clearlake Capital.

During that time, they have been major players in the transfer market as a youth-focused approach was introduced with the club acquiring some of the best young talents around the world using their multi-club model.

It is an ambitious long-term project that requires patience and persistently identifying the right talents, which explains the massive upheaval that has gone on at all levels of the club.

This has led some to understandably question whether the board's decision-making will lead to winning trophies again for a very demanding fanbase.

After a chaotic first season of the new ownership, Chelsea's 2023/24 campaign was another turbulent one due to a young squad getting to grips with life in the Premier League or at Stamford Bridge.

The team made belated progress late on as a strong end to the season saw them clinch sixth in the Premier League standings.

Yet, Mauricio Pochettino left the club on mutual terms with one of the main reasons suggested for his departure being disagreements over plans for the summer transfer window.

Enzo Maresca has been appointed for his innovative coaching and suitability to work within a modern structure which requires working with the talented young players at his disposal.

Chelsea tickets will sell fast ahead of the 2024/25 season as fans and neutrals look to see what the club will look like under the guidance of Enzo Maresca.

With the new Premier League season just over a month away, Chelsea are already working with their new manager to impress his expansive playing style on the squad.

A majority of the first-team players have reported back to the Cobham training facility for preseason, with just a handful still competing in the Euros and Copa America finals.

There have been no injuries so far and there is positivity spreading for a new season with a clean slate for everybody.

Maresca will see his players in action during a tour of the United States in less than two weeks and a radical change in system is expected.

The Pensioners are looking to reinforce their squad with a priority to add more quality to a group with undoubted potential.

Already, five new players have been signed with six departures so far this summer.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Omari Kellyman, Marc Guiu and Tosin Adarabioyo have all joined with Estevao Willian following in 2025, a sixth will be confirmed soon after Renato Veiga completes his medical.

There is a lot more focus in their first-team recruitments as Veiga was targeted specifically because he can play left-back, centre-back and defensive midfield while offering Maresca a perfect fit for his inverted full-back role.

Dewsbury-Hall was one of the most pivotal parts of Maresca's Championship-winning campaign with Leicester City and he comes with bags of experience alongside Adarabioyo.

Pertinently, they have gone about their business while staying within financial regulations by pocketing over £65 million from the sales of Ian Maatsen, Lewis Hall and Michael Golding who all represent pure profit on the balance sheet.

Further academy graduates like Armando Broja, Conor Gallagher and Trevoh Chalobah could potentially increase that profit tally to around £150 million which would bolster Chelsea's transfer budget while improving their compliance with Profit & Sustainability Rules.

More players including Kepa Arrizabalaga and Romelu Lukaku are among those expected to depart West London as Everton and West Ham also circle for the signing of David Datro Fofana.

Maresca's squad balance

Conor Gallagher - who captained the team for most of last season due to injuries to Reece James and Ben Chilwell - could be on the move with Atletico Madrid emerging as suitors alongside Premier League clubs like Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa. The 24-year-old's future will be clearer after England's EURO 2024 campaign, but Chelsea seem to have already moved on in his position.

Dewsbury-Hall looks like Gallagher's ready-made replacement as he is a better fit for Maresca's ball-playing system. The 25-year-old turned down a move to Brighton to reunite with his former Leicester City boss and he will bring familiar qualities to the manager who wants to stamp his playing identity on the team.

Another interesting make-up of Maresca's Chelsea team will be how he utilizes Enzo Fernandez, who appears to be indicating his best role in recent days. The 23-year-old was used as a box-to-box midfielder in a pivot with Moises Caicedo for major parts of last season, but he excels in a different role for Argentina.

Fernandez was positioned as the deep-lying playmaker in the Copa America semifinal triumph over Canada and he misplaced only six of his 63 attempted passes, winning five of six duels and committing no fouls. Those qualities are essential as Maresca likes to build up from the back, and having a creative passer like Enzo will ease their ball progression.

The preference for inverted full-backs will help Enzo in transitions off the ball and one man who was pivotal in that role last term was Marc Cucurella. The left-back has continued his fantastic form by helping Spain to reach the EURO 2024 final and he will have a crucial role to play under his new club manager.

That Cole Palmer and Gallagher will face Spain in that final means there will be at least one gold medal coming back to Cobham this summer. Nevertheless, that feel-good factor must be maintained given the need to bolster their attacking ranks who missed the joint-second most big chances in the league last season.

Many names have already been linked with a move to Chelsea and Michael Olise appeared to be top of their list of attacking targets but he decided to switch to Bayern Munich instead.

With two senior strikers likely to be sold, Maresca must assess Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu in preseason before deciding on whether to strengthen that position.

Should they need to deep into the market, there have been established links to Victor Osimhen, Nico Williams, Viktor Gyokeres, Alexander Isak, Karim Adeyemi, Johan Bakayoko, Samu Omorodion and Jonathan David as possible attacking additions.

Strength in depth versus work to be done

Part of the need for Chelsea to observe how their current stars develop is embedded in the fact that all their key players who missed the majority of last season - Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku and Wesley Fofana - were all present from the first day of preseason and could make a massive difference to the side should they stay fit through most of 2024/25.

Regardless, a lot of their transfer business has been done early, leaving only a few adjustments to be made to Maresca's first Chelsea squad. Yet a lot of work is going on behind the scenes before they begin their pre-season friendlies against Wrexham, Celtic, Club America, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Inter Milan.

Chelsea kick-off their 2024/25 Premier League campaign against Manchester City on August 18 with the hope that most of the squad is in place for what could be an important year for the club.

There are signs of life in the new owners' long-term vision and with all hands seemingly on deck ahead of this campaign, the trajectory may finally change for the better.

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