The transfer window has recently just opened, and it seems as if Chelsea are already being touted as favourites for the upcoming Premier league season, and with good reason.
The transfer window has barely been open for two days, and Chelsea have already completed the signing of Spanish international Cesc Fabregas, and are on the verge of completing the signing of his international teammate, Diego Costa. Furthermore, a further raid on the current La Liga Champions seems to be completed with Courtois returning to Stamford Bridge, and if reports are to be believed, he’ll be joined by two of his former teammates last season: Filipe Luis and Tiago.
So it seems that within the space of a few days, Chelsea are on the verge of building a squad not only capable of winning the premier league, but possibly also the Champions League.
This past season was a disappointment for Chelsea and their fans alike, solely based on the fact that the boys in blue ended the season with an empty trophy cabinet, but there were many encouraging signs suggest Chelsea could be the team to beat in the 2014/2015 campaign.
The first that needs to be pointed out is that Chelsea had the best defensive record in the premier league last season, and they do say the best form of attack is defence. Chelsea conceded only 27 goals last season, in comparison to the 2nd best defensive record, held by Manchester City who conceded 37 goals. This shows how solid ChelseaÂ’s defence was, and with no real shake up at the back, Chelsea can expect to have a mean defence once again under Mourinho in this upcoming campaign.
When we talk about defence, we cannot dismiss the part the goalkeepers have to play in that. Petr Cech was exceptional last season for Chelsea, and it is scary to think that Chelsea have an even better keeper in Thibaut Courtois. Courtois is the best young goalkeeper right now, if not the best, period. Courtois won the Zamora trophy for conceding the least number of goals in La Liga last season, with the young Belgian only conceding 26 goals last term. ItÂ’s no big secret that Courtois is set to return to Stamford Bridge to claim the no 1 spot, which will only strengthen ChelseaÂ’s defence.
Chelsea also boast one of, if not the best midfield in the premier league. With the steel of Matic, the guile of Ramires, and quality back up in Van Ginkel and Mikel, Chelsea have midfielders able to break up attacks and distribute the ball to the more offensive minded players.
In Eden Hazard, Oscar and Willian, not to mention Schurrle, Salah and new acquisition Cesc Fabregas, Chelsea have a plethora of attacking midfielders able to create chances and score goals. Even last season, it seemed as if ChelseaÂ’s midfield players were the ones that were charging the title push.
One must also not forget that ChelseaÂ’s best player last term, Eden Hazard, is only 23 and can only improve. Everyone is anticipating what heights Hazard can reach for Chelsea next season, as well as the impact Cesc Fabregas will have on this new look Chelsea team, especially considering that Fabregas had the most assists in open play, as well as the most chances created in EuropeÂ’s top five leagueÂ’s last season. If there was ever an area where Chelsea did not lack, it would have to be in midfield.
Creating chances has never been a problem for Chelsea. Chelsea are actually one of two Premier League teams (along with Aston Villa) who boast two players in the top ten of chances created by premier league players last season (the players being Eden Hazard and Andre Schurrle). The problem for Chelsea has never been creating chances, it has been scoring them.
While Chelsea do have goal scoring midfielders, it is not enough to win you a Premier League title. In vital games such as the losses against Sunderland and Crystal Palace, a goal scorer was desperately needed as Chelsea created a number of chances, but they did not possess a game changing striker.
Despite his poor World Cup, the imminent signing of Diego Costa will without doubt, increase the attacking threat Chelsea pose next season. With his strength, and knack to be in the right place at the right time, not to mention his finishing ability, Diego Costa will certainly trouble Premier League defences next season.
This past season, Chelsea could not rely on their strikers to make the difference in games where Chelsea were crying out for a natural born goal scorer to bury games. Although EtoÂ’o was a decent stopgap, he is past is peak and scored no goals away from home in the Premier League. Torres was a hit and miss as usual, and Ba was never really given the chance to impress Mourinho. With the imminent signing of Diego Costa, Chelsea will finally have a goal scorer who can fire Chelsea to the title, whilst possibly filling the gap left by Didier Drogba.
Last, but not least, the blues have a driven and hungry manager in Mourinho. No doubt, Mourinho will want to prove not only to himself and the fans, but also to Roman Abramovich that the second coming of the ‘Special One’ was the right choice. The rest of the Premier League beware, the boys in blue are back, and they are looking to bring the Premier League trophy back to the Bridge.
