Chelsea are coming closer to the levels of campaigns past. For the first time in the BlueCo era, they earned a spot in the top four of the Premier League and reached the Champions League. The Blues also got their hands on their first title with a 4-1 win in the Conference League final against Real Betis, and they beat Paris Saint-Germain, the new European kings, to claim the Club World Cup.
Now, the targets will be to fight on several fronts for more silverware and set sights higher in the Premier League standings. Neither of those goals will be easy to get if the squad is not of a suitable standard. Here are three areas that the board might wish to consider if they are pushing to the top.
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An alternative goalkeeper
Not unlike other outfits, the most successful eras of Chelsea had a solid shot-stopper between the posts. Since the exit of Thibaut Courtois, the role of the goalkeeper has been a problem position.
The number one is Robert Sanchez, whom many have doubted from the outset. As a £25 million purchase from Brighton, where he had fallen to third in the pecking order behind Bart Verbruggen and Robert Steele, he looked like a signing inspired by boardroom connections more than quality.
His time at Stamford Bridge has been frustrating. He has done a decent job of the classic duties of a goalkeeper, but he has rarely put on performances at the standard that saw a clean sheet against PSG.
Many of his calamities have come on the ball. Graham Potter preferred him as his number one with the Seagulls because of his ball playing skills, but even Enzo Maresca, who has often indicated his desire to see short buildup out from the back, has not always been able to stand by the Spaniard.
There has already been some significant movement in the squad around the goalkeeping position.
Djordje Petrovic, whom Mauricio Pochettino trusted to start between the sticks in the second half of the 2023/24 season, has gone to Bournemouth. Kepa Arrizabalaga has also departed the team, having signed an extension on his deal to enable the board to recoup £5 million as he joined Arsenal.
The rumour mill has responded. Before the Club World Cup, the club were closing in on a transfer for Mike Maignan, the AC Milan shot stopper, but the Blues were not willing to meet his valuation.
For a role where the starter usually does not rotate, the Blues will need to have assurances on the level of quality they get out of their goalkeeper. An acquisition before the start of September would be wise.
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Cover for Cucurella
Another area of the rearguard has caused issues for the club in a more fallow period of their history.
The Blues were banking on Ben Chilwell as a long-term addition on the left of their defence. But only 15 months after his arrival in the summer of 2020, he suffered an ACL injury. In the last four years, he has not hit 1500 Premier League minutes, and Enzo Maresca made clear he had no place at the club.
Under Pochettino, Chilwell created value in advanced areas of the pitch with his runs off the ball, but the new manager has preferred different members of the squad to try and achieve this target. Notably, Malo Gusto has often operated in an inverted role from both flanks for the Italian, although there have been many sightings of the flaws that saw him moved out of midfield in the Lyon academy.
Their number one in the position is now clearly Marc Cucurella, having missed just two matches in the Premier League, now that Levi Colwill has nailed down one of the two spots in central defence.
Used on the inside and outside, the Spaniard scored five times for the side in the league last season and has earned the trust of the manager as an "intelligent player" who he can deploy in many slots.
But even if Maresca is convinced that Cucurella can do the job, it is not enough to rely on him to take all the minutes at left back. A reliable defensive deputy should be on the wish list to protect one of his cornerstones. In the form of Jorrel Hato, the backroom staff might have already identified their man.
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The loan army / bomb squad
On top of the talent that lies in Cobham, BlueCo has certainly spent the money to have two quality options in each position. But with the revolving door driving players in and out of the camp to no end, it is easy to forget that some of the answers to their problems could be the assets already in the squad.
The options in the middle of the park are a case in point. Last summer, Chelsea chose to offload Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid, loaning out Andrey Santos and Lesley Ugochukwu to Strasbourg and Southampton. Carney Chukwuemeka also went out the door on loan to Borussia Dortmund, while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall had arrived with Maresca from Leicester City.
Since then, Dewsbury-Hall has hardly featured, Enzo Fernandez has found his best form as a box crasher in the final third rather than a playmaker, and Romeo Lavia continues to fall foul of injuries.
It is a situation that forced Moises Caicedo to play every Premier Leaguegame and often left him on an island to sweep up in the centre of the field. If the energy, ball carrying, and goals of any of the three loanees were still in the mix, Chelsea could have managed the winter months much better.
Christopher Nkunku is another man who is out of favour. The Frenchman has been fit for much of the last season, but his 27 appearances in the league only lasted 878 minutes. Most of his gametime has come from the left and given the preference of Cole Palmer to drift inwards from the right wing into space, Maresca might have made better use of the attacker if he had a chance as their number ten.
Politics, personal favourites, and financial mismanagement have been a big part of the tale to this point for Chelsea under Todd Boehly. It would not be fair to dismiss their development over the last fifteen months. But to truly mark a turning of the page, there should be a better plan to use all assets.
