A look at the challenges facing Chelsea over the summer, and whether or not they can repeat as Premier League champions in 2017-18 .
Chelsea were crowned Premier League champions on Friday after beating West Brom 1-0 at the Hawthorns. The win took them onto 87 points, and means they’re still on course to finish the season with 93 points, which would be the second-highest total in league history.
Since Antonio Conte switched from four to three at the back in late September, the Blues have rolled through the league without much of a challenge (no offense to Tottenham). Eden Hazard is back to his world-class best, N’Golo Kante won the PFA Player of the Year award and David Luiz has impressed in the middle of the back three. The Blues have made winning the league look easy, but repeating the feat will be a much more difficult task. Can they do it?
Since the formation of the Premier League in 1992, only two clubs have repeated as Champions: Chelsea and Manchester United. Chelsea did so once, in 2004-05 and 2005-06, while United have done so four times, their most recent run coming from 2006-09.
Chelsea’s most recent title defense saw them fire Jose Mourinho midway through the season and finish outside of the top four. In the past five seasons, there have been four different Premier League winners. Suffice it to say that repeating as champions is a tough task.
There are three main challenges facing Chelsea as they look to retain their title. The first involves the players — who leaves, who stays and who do they bring in over the summer. Diego Costa has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge for most of the season, and could finally depart this summer.
Costa isn’t Chelsea’s best player, but he’ll still be very difficult to replace. Alvaro Morata has been touted as a possible replacement, but the Spaniard’s arrival could also mean the departure of Eden Hazard, and as balanced as the Blues’ 3-4-3 system is, losing Hazard would be a huge blow to their title aspirations next season.
The squad is strong elsewhere, though the back three/five is one obvious area for improvement. Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill and Luiz have been a solid unit, but Cahill in particular has been sloppy at times, and could see his place threatened by a summer signing. Victor Moses was a revelation at wing-back, but might not be the answer going forward.
Conte may feel he needs to show loyalty to the players who won the title this season, but with all Chelsea’s rivals expected to strengthen, not to mention the added games that come with Champions League qualification, he would be wise to spend this summer.
Which brings us to the second challenge facing the Blues next season: the improvement of their rivals. Manchester City will be among the favorites for the league, and after a disappointing season under Pep Guardiola — the first of his managerial career without a trophy — they can be expected to spend big in the summer.
Manchester United have already been heavily linked with moves for young star Kylian Mbappe and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann. Those sorts of signings may depend on whether Mourinho can guide the Red Devils to the Champions League (either by winning the Europa League or finishing in the top four in the Premier League), but they would significantly improve a side that’s been hard to beat, but struggled for goals.
Tottenham might be more concerned with holding onto their players this summer. The usual superclubs will be circling Dele Alli like sharks, while Kyle Walker and Toby Alderweireld are others who have been linked to moves. Mauricio Pochettino has transformed the club into a legit title contender and top four mainstay, but losing some of his key players in the summer could be disastrous, especially if it means another £30 million impulse buy of a player like Moussa Sissoko.
Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp will look to shore up a shaky defense, and could be a serious contender next season if they can stop losing to bottom half clubs. Arsenal, finally, will be Arsenal, floating around the Champions League places, and capable of beating anyone. All these clubs could challenge for the title next season, most of them will strengthen in the summer and none of them have to deal with the pressure of being defending champions.
The final, and perhaps biggest, challenge facing Chelsea in their attempt to repeat as champions is the return of Champions League soccer to Stamford Bridge. As we’ve see in the recent past — Chelsea this season, Leicester last and Liverpool in 2013-14 — not having midweek European matches in the middle of the season is a luxury when battling for the title. Chelsea won’t have that luxury next season.
This is going to be Conte’s second season in charge. He brought the Blues a title in his first year, and will have his sights set on another next season. His switch of formations from a back four to a back three completely changed Chelsea’s season, and refining that system over the summer with more quality in some areas will only help.
Next: Tottenham, and the title race that wasn't
The top six of the Premier League are better than ever, and Chelsea will struggle to match their point total from this season. However, with a few shrewd moves in the summer transfer window and more time for Conte to work with this squad, Chelsea can be the first club to repeat as Champions since United in 2008-09.