Season Preview 2022-23: Chelsea – How Will Tuchel’s Blues Fair In The Todd Boehly Era?
- Features
- August 5, 2022
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Last Season Review
By the end of it, the 2021/22 season was quite the roller coaster ride for Chelsea. The departure of Roman Abramovich and the arrival of the Todd Boehly consortium obviously had an effect on the squad itself. The uncertainty at the time put a lot of pressure on the team and manager to answer for things outside their control.
The way Thomas Tuchel spoke during the whole ordeal was rather assured and confident and he steered the ship in the absence of a leader.
On the footballing side of things, Chelsea would be disappointed. They were top of the table in December, but inconsistent form and dropping points against lower opposition ultimate saw them finish 18 points behind Liverpool, who themselves were a point behind champions Man City.
Mason Mount had a spectacular season, ending it with 11G and 10A and becoming the club’s top scorer. The injuries to Reece James and Ben Chilwell were what really undid their entire season, especially given Tuchel’s philosophy of relying on full-backs bombing forward to join in attack.
Alonso and an ageing Azpilicueta put in useful shifts but weren’t as clinical as their younger counterparts.
Well, now that all of that’s out of the way, Todd Boehly will give everyone at Chelsea a clean slate. With the review done, let’s see how Chelsea look heading into the next season.
Also read: FPL: The Top 5 Budget FPL Defenders For 2022/23
Completed Chelsea Transfers
The Todd Boehly era started by clearing out most of the previous regime’s management, with Marina Granovskaia & Petr Cech also getting axed. The new owners wanted to make a statement of intent and were linked with everyone under the sun.
They decided to cut their losses with Lukaku as the move was a complete and utter failure, which was pretty evident by the end of last season. They also had to deal with the loss of two critical centre-backs in the form of Christensen and Rudiger.
Chelsea, to their credit, have made three major signings, the first of whom was Raheem Sterling from Man City. We already know how good Sterling is, having scored over 100 Premier League goals and winning multiple titles with City.
He will go straight into the squad, and his linkup with Mount and Havertz will be incredible to watch. It is also important to remember that he is still only 28 and has at least 5 good years left in him.
The other was Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli, whose move has been seemingly in the works for the past 3 years. But Chelsea have finally signed him, and although he is 31, he still has got it and would form a formidable back line with Thiago Silva and Chalobah. He was the lynchpin of the Napoli sides that pushed Juventus all the way for the title.
He has been one of the best defenders in the world for the past 5 years. The Blues may have signed him 2-years too late, but he is still a top-level defender.
Most recently, Chelsea completed the signing of Aston Villa starlet Carney Chukwuemeka. The talented 18-year-old is currently England U-19 captain and also led them the U-19 Euros win earlier this year.
The midfielder already made 12 Premier League appearances last season and was very impressive in his limited minutes. While Barcelona, Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund were also interested, Stamford Bridge is where he is heading to with the move now completed.
Also read: FPL: Top 5 Budget FPL Forwards For 2022/23
Rumoured Arrivals
The biggest rumour at the moment is Marc Cucurella, who may have signed by the time you read this. There seems to be some confusion as many media sources have reported a deal to have been agreed, but Brighton then put out a statement that no such agreement has taken place.
If the latest news reports are to be believed, the Barcelona trio of Frenkie de Jong, Memphis Depay and Aubameyang have all been offered to Chelsea. Of them, Depay would be a great fit at Chelsea as he’s more of a no9 but comfortable playing in a fluid front three.
However, Aubameyang would also solve Chelsea’s need for a goalscoring centre-forward.
Expectations For Next Season
The standards at Chelsea were incredibly high in the previous regime under Roman Abramovich, where the lack of silverware or of Champions League football would result in the manager getting sacked, however, things could be different under Boehly.
Only time will tell what kind of pressure the board puts on the manager, but I believe that finishing in the top 4, a solid UCL run, and a cup is what is expected.
The new ownership is not being stringent with money as they’ve shown in the transfer window and they’re ready to make a splash in the market, and with that, the expectations of success will follow suit.
Tuchel will have to get the best out of his new signings, and even one of them flopping could mean trouble.
It’ll also be intriguing to see how the young players are integrated into the squad as Connor Gallager, Armando Broja, Billy Gilmour, and others look to make the step up to Chelsea’s first team.
A lot to be excited about for the Blues; it all kicks off on Saturday against Everton at Goodison Park.
