If in the previous season the Blues were champions of all four national competitions, this season they missed out on the Continental Tyres League Cup. They were also eliminated early from the Women’s Champions League.

The upcoming season will require Emma Hayes to choose the right pieces to complete her squad and seek English and European glory. 

Arrivals and departures during the season


The main transfer was the arrival of the coveted Lauren James, making it the most expensive transfer in women's football so far - a £200k + bonus. However, the player spent much of the season recovering from an injury and played a few minutes.

Hannah Blundell was one of the departures. The player lost space in the team after Maren Mjelde highlighted and the improvisation of Niamh Charles after the Norwegian's injury. She strengthened one of the rivals, Manchester United.

Jamie-Lee Napier left for the London City Lionesses, Emily Murphy for the North Carolina Tar Heels (University of North Carolina) and Arabella Suttie for Birmingham City, all for an undisclosed fee.

A little before the end of the season, the arrival of Dutch Aniek Nouwen, from PSV Eindhoven, was announced. Two Academy players are also on loan: defender Charlotte Wardlaw to Liverpool and Agnes Beever-Jones to Bristol City. 


Early elimination and runner-ups


Chelsea did not have a decent pre-season, considering that most of their players were competing in the Olympic Games. They beat Aston Villa 1-0 and lost to Arsenal 2-1.

The league's debut game was between Chelsea and Arsenal at Meadow Park. Hayes spared Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby and the Gunners won 3-2 with a Beth Mead show. This defeat left Chelsea in second place for quite some time.

The Blues were eliminated in the Women’s Champions League unprecedented group stage, scoring higher than the qualified Wolfsburg and Juventus before the last round. The 4-0 defeat against the Germans was not easy to swallow.

Another defeat of the season was the title of the Continental Tires League Cup, losing 3-1 to a Manchester City still lacking. For the league, the team was also defeated by Reading in December, drew with Brighton in January and with Arsenal in February.


The turn-up


The key turn came after Arsenal's defeat to Birmingham - and some draws. This enabled Chelsea to regain the championship lead in April, after catching up on their games.

Since Maren Mjelde's injury the previous season, Hayes has been forced to make some tactical changes. In addition to using the system of three defenders - which did not work very well and resulted in the continental elimination - she started using four midfielders and two forwards.

The new structural attempts resulted in greater participation by Guro Reiten and Erin Cuthbert, responsible for seven and four decisive goals. Sam Kerr was again the top scorer of the competition, with 20 goals and four assists.

Olympic champion Jessie Fleming gained more game opportunities and Denmark's Pernille Harder had a more impactful season than her debut, scoring six goals in the league. 

Bethany England, who had lost space with the signings of Kerr and Harder, won minutes after injuries to the forwards. The player scored eight goals and provided four assists.

Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger suffered from injuries, allowing Zécira Musovic to play the third of the matches.

The season finale featured impacts related to the war between Russia and Ukraine and sanctions imposed on the club's former owner, Roman Abramovich, by the British government. Todd Boehly of Clearlake Capital Group took over the club and said he would continue to invest in the women's team.

Looking ahead


Emma Hayes' goal remains the conquest of the continent and, for that, she must reinforce the team in its shortcomings. 

One of the main problems of last season was in the defensive sector. Thus, defender Kadeisha Buchanan (Lyon) and left-back Ève Perisset (Bordeaux) were chosen. Left-back Jonna Anderson returned to Sweden, to Hammarby. Maren Mjelde and Jess Carter had their contracts extended for this season.

However, the midfield is another problem. Chelsea had the departures of Ji So Yun and Drew Spence. Furthermore, Melanie Leupolz is pregnant and there is no expected return. It would be interesting to hire someone for the sector, something that has not happened yet.

The window will be opened until the 17th of September and it's still time to search for the missing pieces in the squad.
 

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