Chelsea’s first season under the relatively inexperienced manager Frank Lampard was quite an impressive one as the Blues managed a top four finish in the final gameweek of the truncated 2019/20 season.
The London club played some exciting football under Lampard, a Chelsea legend himself and one of the finest attacking midfielders in the history of the English Premier League.
However, they barely just made it into the top four after an inconsistent run of form, and ensured a place in the lucrative Uefa Champions League.
Last season would have been much better for the Blues had they defeated London rival Arsenal in the FA Cup final, but a top four spot was impressive nonetheless considering their ban in the last couple of transfer windows.
Although the Stamford Bridge outfit played some attractive attacking football, defence was a major problem as they leaked 54 goals, including just nine clean sheets, in 38 matches last season in the EPL.
That is certainly not good enough from the likes of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, currently the most expensive custodian in history after his 71.6m pounds move from Athletic Bilbao, and defence unit comprising Antonio Rudiger, Kurt Zouma, Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen.
In his first season, former English midfielder Lampard was not allowed to buy players due to the transfer ban as he was somewhat forced to field players from the academy, most of whom shone brightly, like Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham.
Following the transfer ban, Chelsea were in dire need for reinforcements and the club’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich duly obliged, splashing the cash and making a host of signings after the departure of midfield maverick Eden Hazard to Real Madrid.
Chelsea led the way among the elite European clubs as they had by far the most busiest and significant transfer window in recent years.
Striker Timo Werner was signed from RB Leipzig for 47.7m pounds, winger Hakim Ziyech from Ajax Amsterdam for 36m pounds, full back Ben Chilwell from Leicester City for 50m pounds, full back Malang Sarr from Nice for free, center back Thiago Silva from Paris Saint Germain for free and last but not least, attacking midfielder Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen for 71m pounds.
Alongside the likes of Werner, Ziyech and Havertz, Chelsea already boast the in-form Christian Pulisic so goal-scoring will not be a big headache next season, but defence needs to improve if the Blues want to push for the league title.
Signing the veteran Silva was a calculated risk as he will be 36 in a few months, but the Brazilian is still considered one of the best defenders in European football.
It will be interesting to see how he copes with the frantic pace of the EPL, and how Chelsea use him amid all the fixture congestion that is likely to be reality next season owing to the novel coronavirus outbreak that has wrecked havoc in the sporting world.
Despite making a splurge in the transfer market, Chelsea are also in the running to sign a goalkeeper, and it is rumored that Rennes’ Edouard Mendy is already on his way to Stamford Bridge, after Kepa had an underwhelming time last season.
It’s an exciting time for the Chelsea fans but how the new signings will adapt to the EPL remains to be seen.
And Lampard will be under the most pressure as anything below the top four will surely not suffice for Abramovich as the Russian owner will be looking for some return after making all these signings.
Many renowned and world-class managers previously lost their post at Chelsea after failing to live upto Abramovich’s expectation and Lampard will have a tough task in hand.
The Chelsea board though has thrown their full support behind Lampard and the Blues fans would be hoping for a successful season with all these exciting new signings.
