With only a few days left until the start of the new season, Chelsea’s defensive situation looks less than ideal. It was a huge area of weakness in a season that many could not have predicted. A unit that has often been one of Chelsea’s strongest started to looks its age over the course of a troubling campaign. Branislav Ivanovic and Gary Cahill particularly struggled to add solidity to Chelsea’s right hand side after Kurt Zouma’s injury. John Terry’s renaissance waned and even the reliability of Cesar Azpilicueta disappeared.
Arguably the best defender Chelsea currently have available is Terry. At 35 years old that situation itself is baffling. As the disappointing Baha Rahman departs for Germany, Chelsea currently have six active defenders to select for the opening game against West Ham. Of those six players two have not played a single minute of Premier League football. With a week to go until the reign of Antonio Conte commences how are Chelsea in a position as bad as this? West Ham are weeks ahead in their pre-season schedule and will relish playing a Chelsea side who are regularly ceding goalscoring opportunities.
Watching the Werder Bremen game it is highly likely that Chelsea start the season with Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry and Azpilicueta. It has been 84 days since Chelsea ended their season and in that period not a single addition to the back four has been made. Of course there are still three weeks left until the transfer window closes, but as Gabriele Marcotti argues it is always best to get business done early. The pursuit of a centre half is entering the realms of John Stones absurdity. How long have the links persisted with Kalidou Koulibaly? If Napoli are insisting on playing hard ball, why not just look elsewhere?
Chelsea have spent nearly £70 million already with a reported £100 million necessary for the purchases of Koulibaly and Lukaku. Surely £100 million is enough to remedy a significant portion of Chelsea’s defensive issues. A back four comprising of Azpilicueta, Zouma and two new starters is actually pretty good. Obvious reservations about the condition Zouma returns in aside, the positive thought has to be that he comes back at a high level. It seems a straightforward assessment to make, but one that Chelsea are ignoring.
There are an abundance of good centre-backs playing in Europe at the moment. GOOD, at this point, would be an upgrade over what Chelsea are likely to start against West Ham. Jonathan Tah, for example, brings a perfect balance of having ability to immediately upgrade Chelsea, with an exceptionally high ceiling in the long-term. In an inflated market his fee is still likely to be less than that of Koulibaly, with a lot more upside. Tah is one of many players who are good enough to start for Chelsea now.
In many ways the success, or lack thereof, hinges upon the ability of Chelsea’s back four this season. N’Golo Kante will give a certain amount of protection, but pairing him with Fabregas, Oscar or Matic leaves many of last season’s issues at hand. Chelsea have a soft core that is compounded by the fact that their centre back pairing is now a major weakness. Can Chelsea get away with having a more progressive midfield if Gary Cahill and John Terry play the majority of the season?
Ultimately Chelsea are aiming to get back into the Champions League. People might say that lacks ambition but it reflects the nature of a side who finished 10th with an ageing back line. Chelsea have signed one player that improves the starting XI and likely needed another 4 or 5 to return to former power. Conte is under incredible pressure to deliver an immediate upturn in fortunes: the question remains have the club done enough to allow him to achieve this?
This is the second summer in a row where the tactics of the Chelsea board have led to a baffling situation. Did they conclude the Kante deal and spend the next 23 days patting each other on the back? Chelsea have likely been trying for targets, but there is an alarming lack of movement. Sure they could go and buy all the remaining targets before West Ham or before the window closes, but that in itself brings its own set of problems. Just how quickly can one, two or three new signings come to terms with Conte’s demands? How does missing pre-season effect the chemistry of the team?
Chelsea fans are right to be wary at the lack of movement they are seeing. There appears to be a significant amount of faith in Conte and his ability as a coach. The extension of that trust does not go as far as those running the club. Maybe the scars of a season mired in mediocrity have not quite healed. Are Chelsea really going to make the same mistakes of last season? Will they panic buy another Nobodji? Only time will tell.
All credit goes to Joe Tweedie from umaxit.
http://www.umaxit.com/index.php/columns/in-chelseas-transfer-strategy-the-same-mistakes-as-last-year-are-apparent?
