Summer Signings at Stamford Bridge

 

Well, the summer transfer window has now shut, and our squad is locked in until the winter window opens in January. The Blues seem to have faced a lot of backlash for their signings or lack thereof this transfer window. After what has been a less than impressive pre-season for Chelsea and a tumultuous start to the Premier League season, Chelsea fans have been calling for change/additions to be made to the squad. If you look at Chelsea’s form in their last fifteen Premier League games, Chelsea has bottom-half form and their slow start to the season seems to be continuing even after spending £140 million on Koulibaly, Cucurella and Sterling. The key issue going into the transfer window was to replace the missing pieces of the backline after the likes of Rudiger and Christensen left, however now the Blues have padded this out a little more with Koulibaly, Cucurella and now Fofana, the goal-scoring and play-making roles within the squad are what is crying out for attention. With Thomas Tuchel and his staff given £311 million to spend on the Chelsea squad during this window, the team arguably looks worse. 

Although I am a massive fan of the defensive players that Chelsea have signed over the summer, I think that one role that desperately needed to be filled is a centre forward, which, fingers crossed has been achieved through the late signing of Aubameyang. I think that since Lukaku went on loan (which was the right choice regardless of the position it now leaves Chelsea in) the lack of a centre forward has left other attacking players such as Kai Havertz and Mason Mount looking disjointed on the pitch. With both of those players having a total of only one assist and zero goals between them in the five Premier League games played so far, despite both starting every one, has left Chelsea fans desperate to sign someone that can come into the squad and re-inspire the front line. The last-minute signing of ex-Arsenal striker Aubameyang I dare say is the answer to the Chelsea fans’ cry. A creative goal-scorer with Premier League experience and a solid relationship with Thomas Tuchel is exactly what the Blues need.

However, one thing that I still do not understand is why Chelsea have allowed Callum Hudson-Odoi to go out on loan when we are massively in need of creative attacking players. I don’t think that Hudson-Odoi has been given a fair chance in this Chelsea squad and for me, he is exactly what we are missing at the moment. He is fast, a penetrative winger, clever on and off the ball, has great positional sense in and around the box – yet we have loaned him to Bayer Leverkusen. I don’t think Hudson-Odoi would have solved our issue of needing a centre forward because this obviously isn’t the position he plays, but I think it might have benefited Chelsea to give Havertz or Mount a spell on the bench and Hudson-Odoi a chance to improve Chelsea’s form.

Overall, I am hopeful that the new additions will assist the Blues in adding more trophies to their ever-growing trophy cabinet this season, despite the slow start. Chelsea are a team that have come back from a lot worse and when on form are a formidable opposition. I have chosen what I think are/will be the three most successful signings for Chelsea this season. Aubameyang is not included in the selection due to the lateness of his signing to Chelsea, and the three I have selected have already made their Chelsea debut…

 

Raheem Sterling

For me, one of the most obvious successes of Chelsea’s transfer window is the signing of Raheem Sterling. Coming from arguably the best team in England, Sterling’s winning mentality will fit right in with this Chelsea team. Even though Chelsea have had a rough start to the Premier League season, Sterling is one of the few players that has managed to create chances and score goals for the Blues. Sterling is the type of player that can produce a goal from nowhere and his first goal against Leicester showed the skill that he possesses as a player. The one qualm I have with the signing of Sterling, however, is that after watching him play the last few matches for Chelsea, he has struggled to let go of the ball at the right time and it has cost Chelsea a few chances to score. I think that when he played for Man City, the tactic of taking the ball all the way to the net and then releasing it worked better because of City’s ability to think ahead and create more methodical, well-thought-out chances, but Chelsea have a faster paced way of playing and the chances they create often rely on the ability to release the ball at exactly the right moment. Nonetheless, Sterling for me is without a doubt a brilliant signing for the Blues and with the state of Chelsea’s play at the moment, seemingly a very necessary one.

Kalidou Koulibaly

I had a couple of doubts regarding the signing of Koulibaly at first because of his age - I just thought that it might be better for Chelsea to sign some young defenders and build them up. But having doubts of a player because of their age isn’t a good excuse anymore because look at the likes of Thiago Silva. He has, without a doubt, been Chelsea’s best player during pre-season and the start of the Premier League season, yet he is the oldest in the squad. Koulibaly seems to bring everything we need in a back four – experience, quality, strength, and height. He has made clear that he does not want to just be Rudiger’s replacement, but I think coming to the bridge to fill a void like Rudiger it was always going to be an inevitable comparison. However, Koulibaly was quick to make a name for himself at Chelsea when he scored a top class goal in their first home game of the season and his home debut. Koulibaly was missing from the starting XI against Leicester after picking up a needless red card in the defeat against Leeds, but his performance overall has been nothing short of success so far. Looking at the way he has been playing: his positions on the pitch, his ability to drive forward with pace and his determination to get his head on the ball in set pieces, he seems like the standard replacement for Rudiger and a player that Chelsea can utilise. £34 million for an experienced top-defender that has fit into the mould of Chelsea’s backline is an absolute steal and brings confidence to our defence going forward.

 

Marc Cucurella

My favourite signing of the summer is Marc Cucurella. Even though there was some noise surrounding his move to Chelsea with regards to the £65 million price tag, I had no doubt that he would be a brilliant signing for the Blues, and a personal favourite for myself. Although £65 million is a steep price to pay, especially since we already have Ben Chilwell (and at the time of signing we still had Marcos Alonso) in the left back position, I really do think that padding out the fullback roles was important for Chelsea during this transfer window. For me, something that makes Chelsea stand out from other top Premier League teams is their use of full backs. Chelsea full-backs have always had the added flare of consistently scoring goals and creating chances as well the defensive aspects of their game – this can be seen through the likes of Reece James and Ben Chilwell. When James and Chilwell both suffered injuries last season it had a massive impact on Chelsea and was one of the reasons for their drop in form after the winter break, so for me it was important to create depth in these positions during this transfer window and the signing of Cucurella has done just that. Ever since his first appearance for Chelsea in their 1-0 win at Goodison Park, Cucurella has slotted right into the team – he looks like he has been playing for Chelsea for years. With two assists in three starts, Cucurella has been fundamental to the Chelsea team, being (alongside James) one of our best players in creating chances. He is a powerful addition to the Blues and a personal favourite for me.