Chelsea ran away with the Premier League title in 2016-17. Will Antonio Conte’s side be able to do it again this season?
INS: Alvaro Morata (£70 million, Real Madrid), Tiemoue Bakayoko (£34 million, Monaco), Antonio Rudiger (£29.75 million, AS Roma)
OUTS: Nathan Ake (£19.38 million, Bournemouth), Juan Cuadrado (£17 million, Juventus), Asmir Begovic (£9.78 million, Bournemouth), Bertrand Traore (£8.5 million, Lyon), John Terry (free, Aston Villa)
THE STORY: The Premier League champions have a tough act to follow after finishing the 2016-17 season with the second most points, and the most wins, in league history. They’re unlikely to better their points total from last season, but another title challenge, coupled with a decent run on their return to the Champions League, is probably the minimum requirement.
Antonio Conte had a relatively quiet summer, however, more notable for the players he missed out on than the ones he signed. The biggest disappointment — failing to secure the signature of Everton’s Romelu Lukaku — led to the biggest acquisition, Alvaro Morata, who will have a big role to play in the Blues’ success (or failure) this season.
Morata has big-game pedigree, having starred in Juventus’ run to the Champions League final 2014-15, but remains something of an unknown quantity after mostly sitting on the bench at Real Madrid last season.
The 24-year-old can score with both feet, combines well with teammates and is a strong presence up front, but he will have more responsibility at Stamford Bridge than he’s so far been given in his career, and it will be no easy task to replace the outgoing Diego Costa, who scored 20 league goals in Chelsea’s title-winning campaigns in 2014-15 and 2016-17.
Still, if he adapts quickly, Morata has the talent to be a 20-plus goal striker, and Conte likes to go with proven winners. Morata has won two Champions League titles, and two domestic league titles in both Spain and Italy.
Perhaps the biggest concern heading into the new season is depth. Last term, the Blues won 13 league games in a row from October to January to take a commanding lead in the title race, which they never relinquished, but their form dipped toward the end of the season, and they looked lethargic in their FA Cup final loss to Arsenal in late May. A lack of options outside the starting XI certainly had something to do with that.
Indeed, Conte admitted at the end of last season that his side had been “lucky” not to have had players suffer any major injuries. Chelsea’s depth was never truly tested. It will be this year, as they compete in the Champions League in addition to the domestic competitions.
The starting XI will feature a few new faces — Morata, Tiemoue Bakoyoko and Antonio Rudiger are all likely to start a considerable number of games — but the squad hasn’t gotten any bigger. Costa’s departure appears to be only a matter of time, Nemanja Matic left for Manchester United and John Terry and Nathan Ake also joined new clubs.
Still, expectations are high. Last season’s Player of the Year, N’Golo Kante, summed it up best, saying Chelsea are out to “win everything” — the coveted “quadruple” — this season. “Football is like this: After every game you have to do better in the next and the season is the same,” he told Chelsea’s official website. “After last season we have to start in the same way and try to do better. We are looking to do a better season together and we know at a club like Chelsea a good season means to win titles. So we will try to win some titles. Win, win, win.”
If Chelsea are to be successful this season, they will require a mammoth effort from a small group of players. Conte’s a demanding manager, and will drive his players hard, but they may also need another healthy dose of luck in the injury department if they’re to live up to their own high standards.
KEY PLAYERS: All three new signings will have big roles to play. Rudiger, a 24-year-old defender, is young and possesses the skills and ability to read the game. The German international, who played for Roma last season, will join Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Gary Cahill as one of the primary options at the back.
Bakayoko, meanwhile, is a dominating athletic presence in the midfield. The 22-year-old is likely to slot in next to Kante in central midfield, the role Matic occupied last season. France manager Didier Deschamps described Bakayoko as “a complete midfielder” and added that he “has an important athletic presence, he’s good at recovery, he scores decisive goals and is able to project himself.” Like Rudiger, Bakayoko has never played in England but his game seems well suited to the Premier League.
As important as the new players will be, however, Chelsea’s key players will likely be the same as they were last season, Kante and Eden Hazard. The latter could miss the start of the season as he continues to recover from a fractured ankle sustained in Belgium training, but he’ll be the fulcrum of the Blues’ attack as soon as he returns. His relationship with Morata will go a long way to determining the side’s attacking success.
As for Kante, he’s been the best player in the league over the past two seasons. His energy and ball-winning ability were crucial to the success of Chelsea’s 3-4-3 last season. Given the Blues’ apparent lack of squad depth, those qualities might be even more crucial this time around.
THE MANAGER: Chelsea were given a boost over the summer on the eve of their preseason tour to Asia after Conte inked a new two-year deal, ending weeks of speculation that he was looking to move on.
Conte seems to have the pieces he needs to help Chelsea load up on trophies. His decision last season to go from a 4-1-4-1 to a 3-4-3 is largely credited with helping him win the title. The switch led to that 13-game winning streak, and gave Hazard, in particular, the freedom he needs to thrive.
Conte will probably use the 3-4-3 again next season, but the arrival of Rudiger and Bakoyoko might give him more tactical flexibility. With teams throughout the Premier League now experimenting with back threes, the Italian will want to keep his options open.
He’s not likely to radically change things up. A lot will depend on what sort of start to the season the team has and whether Conte can be outplayed now that his tactics are no longer a secret. Conte is a pragmatic manager, though, and won’t stick with any one approach if it’s not working.
Next: Ranking every Premier League season
BEST CASE: Chelsea’s key players stay fit and they win multiple trophies, including either the Champions League or Premier League.
WORST CASE: The lack of squad depth becomes a serious problem as the Blues have to fight for a spot in the top four.