Chelsea Season Preview – Blues target Champions League return under Sarri
It’s been another summer of sweeping changes at Stamford Bridge but there has been little to cheer about for Chelsea supporters. After months of speculation, Antonio Conte was finally sacked and replaced by Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri. While that may have proved the catalyst to kickstart preparations for the new campaign, Chelsea are still fending off competition from their rivals for the likes of Eden Hazard, N’Golo Kante, Willian and Thibaut Courtois.
One to watch – Alvaro Morata
With Chelsea now set to miss out on Gonzalo Higuain to Serie A giants AC Milan, Alvaro Morata will have the chance to kickstart his career at Stamford Bridge this season. The Spanish striker endured a turbulent debut campaign at Chelsea last term and was heavily linked with a move away. However, with time running out in the transfer window, Sarri has little choice but to give Morata the chance to impress. The 25-year-old only netted 11 league goals last term and will be eager to improve on that tally under Sarri.
Best Signing – Jorginho
Having only signed Jorginho and Rob Green to date, there isn’t really any debate to be had. Green has been signed as Chelsea’s new third choice goalkeeper, while Jorginho’s arrival to reunite with former Napoli boss Sarri will prove absolutely key to the latter’s chances of implementing his philosophy at Chelsea. Jorginho’s pre-season performances have been impressive and tremendously commanding in the middle of the park, emphasising the significance of their move to hi-jack Manchester City’s deal for the Italian. Jorginho averaged more passes per game than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues last season (96.9), so Chelsea fans can expect more of the same this season.
Welcome to London, and welcome to Chelsea, Jorginho! 👊#WelcomeJorginhohttps://t.co/BnAsrtOA4I
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 14, 2018
Area of Weakness
Despite a difficult summer, Chelsea still have a brilliant squad at their disposal. They did win the Premier League in 2017, after all. The Blues finally replaced Antonio Conte but their pre-season has been dominated by speculation linking Willian, Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois with a move away from Stamford Bridge. At least two of the aforementioned trio are keen to leave but all of them are on course to stay at Chelsea as things stand. As was the case with Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal 12 months ago, it can difficult for players to regain their focus and commitment overcoming disappointment. That could come back to haunt Chelsea at one point this season.
Prediction / Best Bet
As we have seen down the years with Chelsea, you can never write them off completely at the stand of the season after a change of manager. Antonio Conte won the Premier League in his first season in charge, while Carlo Ancelotti, another Italian, did so in his first campaign back in 2010. However, this summer has arguably been more difficult than the aforementioned campaigns and it will be difficult for Sarri to leapfrog the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool to top spot. Nevertheless, breaking into the top four should be the priority and they are 2.62 with Betfair to even finish in the top three.
I do not see Willian or Pedro Rodriguez to play right forward well enough for it to make sense for Chelsea to play a 4-3-3. At Napoli, Jose Callejon played right forward in a 4-3-3 when Sarri coached there. Callejon had 7 goals and 7 assists in 2015-2016, 14 goals and 12 assists in 2016-2017, and 10 goals and 10 assists in 2017-2018 in the Italian League matches. Napoli scored 80, 94 and 77 goals in its league in those seasons. A fourth midfielder could add more at Chelsea than Willian or Pedro at right forward. Also, Willian makes more sense as a midfielder, like Coutinho, than as a forward.