After 12 games last season Chelsea had 21 points and were sixth in the table. The start made by Thomas Tuchel and then Graham Potter – who was unbeaten in his opening five league games – was actually not too bad.
There was a two point gap to third place and it felt that even with some dysfunction the campaign could be salvaged after a rocky start.
By the end of January and what was at the time matchday 22 they were 10th with just 10 points from the last 10 games and things had faltered. They didn’t get any better.
What this shows is just how quickly things can change. The side that played on a matchday 12 0-0 draw with Brentford was six players different to that of the one that drew 0-0 with Fulham just two months later after the World Cup and a whirlwind January window. The manager was still the same (just) but everything else continued to change.
From the side that failed to beat the Cottagers on February 3, 2023 only eight of the 20 from the matchday squad are in position to play against Newcastle on Saturday. Change happens fast.
For Mauricio Pochettino he will be keen for a different sort of change. His side are 10th but have managed to turn opinions in recent weeks thanks to a bold attacking approach that saw them emerge with four points and eight goals from matches against Manchester City and Tottenham.
It leaves them 10 points from the top four but with a strong record against those challenging for the European places and some confidence that things might be going in the right direction. The good news to add to this is it feels like Chelsea are still someway from fielding what could be their best team.
Reece James and Ben Chilwell have only played 75 minutes together this season, Benoit Badiashile and James haven’t featured in a league game together yet and nobody has been on the pitch with Christopher Nkunku or Romeo Lavia. These are all names that many put forward to be central to Pochettino’s plans and injuries have largely meant that the best-case scenario has been chucked out the window.
The shuffling of the pack to find the best balance without these integral players has been a serious challenge. Slowly but surely that feels like it is changing. Lavia and Nkunku are both training – though not yet with their teammates – Badiashile is available for selection and James has now started three games in a row. Small steps but important ones nonetheless.
It leaves Pochettino with some big calls to make ahead of January without all the evidence available to him. How to decide what positions need strengthening when all the pieces haven’t been on show. Well some parts of this appear clear regardless.
Even though Armando Broja and Nicolas Jackson have been strongly defended by the manager in the media it is a striker that the club really wish to sign the most, that much is clear. football.london understands that an offer for Ivan Toney is being considered for January whilst Victor Osimhen is a player certainly on their radar.
Neither player is certain to arrive, mid-season it looks like Toney is the more likely to move and the hopes will be that even without competitive action for eight months his time spent in the league and experience in London will make him close to a sure success. Osimhen will be more expensive but also largely out of the equation until the summer due to Napoli’s Champions League demands, the money involved and Chelsea’s own European qualification far from cemented.
Another player that could see links to Stamford Bridge is Kylian Mbappe. He has been speaking about his contract at Paris Saint-Germain after returning to the team having been unwelcome in the French capital for much of the past six months. “It’s something I don’t want to talk about,” he said earlier this week.
“Especially since I already did it in June and it took up a big part of the international break. I want us to talk more about the national team, rather than me talking about something that will be resolved one day, so there will be time to talk about that.”
It has been reported that he is demanding a salary of £30.5million (€35m) after tax as well as a signing bonus of roughly £87million (€100m). Whilst it isn’t sensible to suggest he is on his way to SW6 it is one to keep an eye for because at some stage the 24-year-old will have to make a big decision over his future.
Elsewhere the rest of the team slots into shape after January if injury recoveries go as planned. Despite calls from Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher for a new goalkeeper Rob Sanchez has done little wrong to see him lose his place in the side. James is the club captain and will feature most of the time despite Malo Gusto being a noble deputy and strong back-up.
In the centre and when Badiashile is fit it could see a partnership of two left-footed defenders alongside Levi Colwill as he moves back into his primary role. Chilwell is the club’s best left-back and will hope to build himself up as well over the coming weeks.
The midfield is trickier to tie down, especially with the attacking conundrum ahead. Enzo Fernandez remains as the player capable of dictating play from deep but also orchestrating attacks. Moises Caicedo has had a quiet start to life but is one of the best ball-winners in the world yet Conor Gallagher has perhaps been the club’s player of the season.
One of these must drop out if the attack is to be truly unleashed and that is without considering Lavia and his value too. For balance it may well be Gallagher that misses out in a best XI but his impact has so far been unrivalled across the team and the 23-year-old is certainly going to be getting his share of gametime.
Source: Football.London
