Analysing Chelsea FC’s Transfer Business
Chelsea Football Club, who finished fourth in the 2019/20 Premier League season with 66 points, just slightly behind heavyweights Manchester United by goal difference, have got busy in the transfer market really quickly. Manager Frank Lampard is leading a sort of revival in the ranks. After being reportedly given a freehand by owner Roman Abramovich, he has gone about making new acquisitions and putting into paper deals which will help him strengthen his squad. Some might say that the former England international has bitten off more than he can chew or that he has got too much in his plate, but there is simply no way of knowing how effective his ideas will be or if his efforts bear fruit until the new season gets underway.
LAST SEASON BLUES
The Blues had a very good start to the previous season and held their own until the dying stages, when their nerves gave way and allowed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Red Devils and Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes to challenge them for a top-four spot. In the end, it was Manchester United who pipped Leicester City to finish third, and it was only a stellar final day showing against another top six contender, Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolverhampton Wanderers that ensured that Lampard’s men remained in a Champions League spot. However, after that strong performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers, little has gone right for Chelsea.
At first, they squared off against cross-town rivals Arsenal in the final of the Emirates FA Cup and were edged out towards the end by an unlikely Pierre Emerick Aubameyang brace which nullified American international Christian Pulisic’s early-game strike. The loss of face notwithstanding, Chelsea had to grapple against Bayern Munich next in the second leg of their round of sixteen clash in the UEFA Champions League and proceeded to have a sound thrashing handed out to them. Hansi Flick’s Bavarians ran amok Chelsea’s defenders at the Allianz Arena, finishing with 4 goals to Chelsea’s one. A late Tammy Abraham strike ensured some semblance to the scoreline. However, the damage had already been done and Chelsea were out of the UEFA Champions League owing to the 0–3 defeat they were handed out by the same opponents in the first leg of their round of sixteen clash at Stamford Bridge earlier.
There have been some notable performances from the men in Blue in the 2019/20 season and not even their harshest critic can deny Chelsea that.
The youngsters in Lampard’s squad such as Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic, Ethan Ampadou, Billy Gilmour and Ruben Loftus Cheek all impressed in bits and pieces, with only the first three able to tie down regular spots in Lampard’s starting eleven. While this might suggest to the uninformed viewer that Chelsea are blessed only with youth, that could not be further from the truth. Boasting an experienced lineup of Olivier Giroud, Jorginho, Marcos Alonso, Mateo Kovacic and Antonio Rudiger, Chelsea seem to have that base covered as well. Why then, is manager Lampard hell-bent on changing the entire makeup of his squad?
THE COMINGS AND GOINGS AT STAMFORD BRIDGE UNDER FRANK LAMPARD
Manager Lampard was sure of the fact that to take Chelsea to the next level, he would have to make some big signings. There have been times in the previous season, both in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League, when Chelsea have found it difficult to break deadlocks. They have lacked in the creative midfield department as the departure of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid in the summer of 2019 has left its void. Lampard has tried urging Loftus Cheek and Pulisic to take up the mantle but neither of them has had a lot of success. While the latter has been the part of some good performances, Loftus Cheek, who promises so much, has left a lot to be desired.
Young attacking midfielder Mount was a revelation at the beginning of the season, but he too was found wanting towards the end of it. Chelsea struggled mightily to find someone who could fill in Hazard’s shoes, but it is amply clear that they have not been very successful at it. Brazil international Willian, who was widely renowned for being able to switch flanks with ease, was a shadow of his former self in the 2019/20 Premier League season, and could only find the back of the net nine times and provide assists on seven occasions in a total of 36 appearances. In the UEFA Champions League, his performances were worse, with a return of just one goal and one assist in seven games.
Willian was deemed surplus to Lampard’s needs, and as he became a free agent at the beginning of the 2020/21 season, close rivals Arsenal swept in to have him on their rolls. It remains to be seen if Chelsea fans will be able to forgive the Brazilian for shifting base to their team’s fiercest rivals, especially after former club centre back David Luiz did the same thing prior to the 2019/20 season. Although they may not mind former Gunners’ centre-forward Giroud operating along their frontline of late, the loss of Willian, his poor performances notwithstanding, must sting the Stamford Bridge faithful very deeply. Another significant outgoing player was attacker Pedro Rodriguez, who was sold to AS Roma. The former FC Barcelona man was brilliant for the Blues during his stay in London and it will be numbing to the supporters of Chelsea even more to see him leave.
However, what has to be understood here is that for Lampard to make new signings who could bring about a wind of change at Stamford Bridge, he had to sell players to balance the books. Although Willian was allowed to leave for free, selling Pedro may have given Lampard some much-needed funds.
Others who remained off the books at Stamford Bridge are Danny Drinkwater and Victor Moses, who are most likely to continue on their loan spells to Aston Villa and Inter Milan respectively. Now that the selling business had been completed to near perfection, all Lampard had to do was grab the eyeballs of promising as well as established players from Europe and there is nothing that suggests that he has not done that so far.
NEW SIGNINGS: IS IT ALL THE CHARM OF FRANK LAMPARD OR THE LURE OF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOOTBALL FOR THE SECOND SEASON IN A ROW?
Chelsea have not stopped their manager Lampard from going all-out in the summer transfer window to reinforce his side.
Attackers such as Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech have already been signed by the Blues and Bayer Leverkusen right winger Kai Havertz is being currently pursued relentlessly by the men from Stamford Bridge.
This might lead to a little bit of discontent in Chelsea’s dressing room, because they already have the likes of Abraham, Giroud and Loftus Cheek, who can play as sole strikers, and the inclusion of Werner, Ziyech and possibly Havertz might lead to a lot of them being uprooted. In any event, this might also lead to cracks appearing in their closely-knit group, and Lampard will have to be extremely careful in trying to introduce these new signings to his squad.
One department that has let Lampard down a lot in the 2019/20 season, both in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, was his defence. Centre backs Andreas Christensen, Fikayo Tomori, Antonio Rudiger and Kurt Zouma have rarely lived up to their billings, with only the first and third of those mentioned above able to tie down spots in their club’s starting eleven. There has also been a lot of tension amongst Chelsea’s wingbacks. With the addition of young Reece James to the ranks, club captain Cesar Azpilicueta has found himself increasingly being moved to the left back position, leaving his favoured right back spot to the 20-year-old.
What this has meant is a loss of a spot in the starting eleven for regular left back Marcos Alonso. Increasingly, it has also alienated second-choice left back Emerson. With fewer and fewer appearances coming his way, it has been widely reported that Emerson may be on the way out from Stamford Bridge, with a host of clubs such as Inter Milan and AS Roma in his homeland Italy vying for his signature. Lampard has been on the look for a solid left back ever since Alonso failed to nail the spot down. Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell has been linked constantly to Stamford Bridge, and it remains to be seen if the Blues are willing to shell out whatever the Foxes are asking for the injury-prone Englishman.
In conclusion, it can be said that although Chelsea are going all-out in the summer transfer window with manager Lampard not holding back even a little, they must pause for a moment to consider what implications that might have on their already ruffled dressing room. Their manager has only the club’s best intentions at heart, but he must consider which players can actually bring value to Stamford Bridge. After all, a notable signing is not only that player who performs on the field, but he who also gels well with his new teammates and buys into the team’s philosophy.