Chelsea boss Frank Lampard will be hoping that his new left-back  will help bring some much-needed support to a side plagued with defensive frailties.

Ben Chilwell arrived back in August from Leicester City for a fee of £50million after finishing fifth in the  Premier League with The Foxes last year.

Although the fee is by no means a bargain, Chilwell is a player who is proven in the Premier League and will add some vital quality and depth to a Chelsea defence that conceded 54 times in the league in Lampard's first year in charge. 

In comparison, Liverpool and Manchester City conceded 33 and 35 goals respectively whilst Chilwell's former side let in only 41. 

Lampard has been keen to improve on his side's shortcomings from the last campaign, spending a surplus of £200 million on seven new additions to his young and talented squad. 

A different option at left-back

In recent years, the left-back position has mainly been occupied by Marcos Alonso, a player who was signed by Antonio Conte ahead of the 2016/17 season. 

In his first season, the Spaniard was key in Chelsea's title charge and benefited from Conte's five at the back system, giving him the cover he needed to accommodate for his tendencies to get forward. 

Since the Italian manager's departure, the left-back spot has been somewhat of a problem position, with Cesar Azpilicueta and Emerson both fighting Alonso to nail down the spot. 

Chilwell has more pace than Alonso and Azpilicueta and will provide more mobility down the left-hand side, something that has frustrated Chelsea fans over recent seasons. 

The former Leicester man registered a 60% tackle success rate in his 26 league appearances last year, whereas Marcos Alonso managed a 57% success rate in his 18 appearances. 

However, it's the attacking qualities of Chilwell that will bring excitement to Chelsea fans as he put in a total of 103 crosses from left-back last season, the 12th best for a defender in the Premier league, depsite missing 12 games of the campaign.

WIth Reece James being the 11th most frequent crossing defender with 109 crosses in 24 appearances, Lampard's side will be a massive threat from wide areas from the full-backs alone. 

Add to that the talents of Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech on the wings and opposition defenders will be dreading coming up against the blues this year.

A good start to life in London

The England international made his debut for Chelsea, coming on in the 66th minute of a 6-0 win against Barnsley in the Carabao Cup.

it didn't take him long to make an impact as his inviting cross from the left-hand side was expertly met by the forehead of Olivier Giroud to complete the scoring on the night.

Chelsea's new number 21 did not feature in their first two games of the season due to a foot injury but now he will be looking to build on his debut performance against West Brom on Saturday.

The arrivals of Timo Werner, Ziyech and Kai Havertz in attack make The Blues one of the most exciting sides going forward, yet these signings can only do so much if the issues at the back are not resolved. 

Thiago Silva and Eduoard Mendy will add extra reinforcments to  Lampard's back line in a bid to make Chelsea a title challenger.