New Chelsea Squad Faces Early Season Test

Following the end of our transfer embargo Chelsea have been very busy in the transfer window so far this summer.

Attracting stars to Stamford Bridge has never been a problem but finishing in the top four to qualify for this season’s Champions League will certainly have been of benefit after Frank Lampard’s first season in charge.

Last season saw the likes of Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham all star in their debut campaigns, whilst youngsters Billy Gilmour, Fikayo Tomori and Reece James among others were also given their first games for the club.

The squad is now filling up with talented and promising players that are more than capable of finishing in the top four once again this campaign. Betway believe this too, giving us odds of 1/2 to finish in the top four, ahead of next Monday night’s season opener away to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Our team will be tested as early as the second game when we host defending champions Liverpool. A result in that game would make a huge statement of intent as to where we’re headed, whilst games against West Bromwich Albion (away), Crystal Palace (home) and Southampton (home) immediately after give us a good opportunity to make a fast start.

And a fast start is something that has been key to the champions in recent seasons – none less than Liverpool, who won 26 of their first 27 games last season. On average, the eventual Premier League champions have taken 24 points from the first 30 available over the past 18 years. Whilst we’re unlikely to challenge for the title this season, a fast start would certainly go a long way to make sure we finish in the top four.

Timo Werner is set to solve our problem in the striker’s role having arrived from RB Leipzig in what can be seen as a bargain in today’s market, just under £50 million.

We finally landed England left-back Ben Chilwell from Chelsea, having passed on him as a teenager and then being linked to him for the past couple of seasons. This was likely aided by Leicester City dropping out of the Champions League places in the final games of last season.

Chilwell will compete with Marcos Alonso for a starting role, which could be alongside Thiago Silva following the free acquisition of the 35-year-old after he left Paris Saint-Germain following their Champions League final defeat.

The Brazilian international should help sure up our defence that shipped more goals in a single Premier League campaign than any season since 1996-97. His experience should serve youngsters Fikayo Tomori and Andreas Christensen for the future too.

To further bolster our attack in recent days, Kai Havertz has arrived from Bayer Leverkusen. The German international can play multiple attacking positions and will likely replace Willian on the right wing following the Brazilian’s departure. Havertz arguably played his best football out wide, though was quite prolific in front of goal when playing the central striker role in the final months of this past season.

These signings link up with Hakim Ziyech, who only officially joined the club on 1 July when the transfer window opened, after agreeing the deal back in February.

There’s still another month left to sign more players too, with goalkeeper Edouard Mendy reportedly in talks with us, and West Ham United star Declan Rice strongly linked. The start of the 2020/21 season should give us a good indication of whether our new signings will lead to a title challenge or not.