Chelsea Mid-Season Preview

A necessary overhaul

Given the upheaval both behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge and within the dressing room it was, in hindsight, inevitable that Chelsea would make a bumpy start to 2022-23.

The Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital takeover had been uniquely complicated during the spring and summer of 2022. No club purchase is straightforward but added into the mix were the additional hurdles of government sanctions, special licences and myriad other obstacles. An entire boardroom required replacing and new transfer strategy needed implementing.

Chairman Boehly himself acted as interim sporting director after Marina Granovskaia departed alongside most of the former Chelsea hierarchy and appointments needed to be made across the board of directors.

Transfer activity had to wait in line while the new regime laid foundations for the future of the club and Raheem Sterling eventually became Boehly’s first senior signing just three weeks before the start of the season.

But the defence needed rebuilding after the departures of Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Marcos Alonso. A new-look attack had to be created after Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner and Callum Hudson-Odoi moved abroad.

Seven more first-team players would arrive to cover the exodus but while the signings of Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang showed Boehly’s intent, none of the new players had much – if any – time to settle ahead of the new season.

A troubled start to 2022-23

With new players to integrate and a change in the dynamic between boardroom and dugout, the early weeks of 2022-23 were tough for manager Thomas Tuchel. Disappointing defeats away at Leeds, Southampton and Dinamo Zagreb hinted at the growing difficulties behind the scenes and it soon became inevitable that Tuchel would part ways with the club.

The German manager was rightly celebrated upon his departure after a 19-month reign had brought three domestic cup final appearances, a Uefa Super Cup, Fifa Club World Cup and, most spectacularly of all, a second Champions League trophy for the Blues.

However, for all Tuchel’s excellent work in previous seasons and for all the mitigating factors in 2022-23, it was clear that things were no longer going to plan. It was better to act swiftly and bring in a manager whose vision for the club would better align with that of its new owner.

Boehly already had that man in mind – Graham Potter.

Potter works his magic

Given the challenging circumstances into which he entered, few pundits backed Potter to make an immediate impact upon his arrival at Stamford Bridge. But the former Brighton head coach quickly galvanised the Chelsea dressing room and took the team unbeaten through his first nine matches in charge.

Back-to-back victories over AC Milan and four points collected against RB Salzburg secured qualification from Champions League Group E and Potter’s Blues took 11 points from a possible 15 in the Premier League.

Ironically, however, it was Potter’s former club that ended the fairytale start as Chelsea slipped to a late October 4-1 defeat to Brighton in a match in which everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Potter had to field a patched-up team due to the absence of four crucial defensive players and two of those replacements, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah, were unlucky enough to score first-half own goals.

The Blues bounced back from that loss with victory over Dinamo Zagreb but next up came a demanding run of matches against each of the Premier League’s top three – and just as Chelsea’s injury crisis struck in earnest.

A patched-up Chelsea team lost 1-0 to both Arsenal and Newcastle in the league and 2-0 to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup. And while all three encounters could have gone either way, supporters went into the World Cup break feeling glum despite such a positive start to life under their new manager.

A blip rather than a trend

Potter’s men returned from the international break with victory over Bournemouth and a point at Nottingham Forest, and while another pair of defeats to Manchester City and a loss to Fulham would follow there was never any cause for panic.

Defeat to any opponent is tough to take for a club of Chelsea’s stature but context is key and the poor run of results needs putting in perspective.

The quality of opposition was unusually high after the Blues were unlucky enough to draw Manchester City away in both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. And while Chelsea would expect to compete with any opponent, allowances must be made for a team at the start of a process facing arguably the strongest team in world football – three of Potter’s seven defeats have come against Pep Guardiola’s well-established side.

Another two of Potter’s Chelsea losses came against Arsenal and Newcastle – leaders and third in the Premier League – and the final pair came in freakish circumstances. Chelsea netted two first-half own goals to lose against Brighton and dominated Fulham but saw the match turn on a Joao Felix red card.

No defeat should be dismissed, but a Chelsea side in transition could be excused a few setbacks – and all the more so given the injury crisis engulfing the Cobham Training Centre.

Hamstring surgery ruled star midfielder N’Golo Kante out for six months and wingbacks Reece James and Ben Chilwell – so vital last season – have both been out for extended periods.

Fofana has managed just four appearances since being signed to fill the gap at centre-back and both goalkeepers have faced several weeks out through injury. Midfielders Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Denis Zakaria have suffered significant lay-offs in 2022-23, striker Armando Broja ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament in December and the likes of Sterling and Christian Pulisic have also suffered lesser injuries.

Injuries are to be expected but Chelsea have been freakishly unlucky with them this term, leaving Potter unable to name a settled line-up let alone build form and confidence while instilling his ideas.

Silver linings and spectacular signings

January’s disappointing FA Cup exit came with a significant silver lining, however, as the free weekend it created meant Potter was granted an unexpected 12-day mini-break between matches. And in a heavily compacted season in which a new manager is trying to implement new methods, that extra time on the training pitches could prove crucial.

Having only once had longer than five days between matches since taking the helm at Chelsea, Potter now had a chance to instil his system rather than simply prepare for the next opponent.

That break also took in the closure of the January transfer window, serving as an excellent opportunity in which to bed in new signings – and, boy, have Boehly and co been busy on that front.

Concerns that Chelsea might slip back into the pack under new ownership have been quashed in spectacular style, with the Boehly-Clearlake Capital consortium making their intentions clear in the transfer market.

The deadline day capture of Enzo Fernandez for a British record transfer fee of £106.8m pushed Chelsea’s squad spending to over half a billion pounds in the space of just two transfer windows – forget the usual lengthy rebuilding process, Boehly is in a hurry.

Many of the pieces were already in place – ten of the 14 players who beat Manchester City in the 2021 Champions League final remain at the club – and now some of the most exciting talents in world football have been added to an already excellent squad.

Youngsters Benoit Badiashile and Fofana have been brought in to add depth alongside Thiago Silva and Koulibaly, securing the centre-back positions for the next decade.

Marc Cucurella has struggled to settle but will surely soon flourish under his former manager. Future stars have been snapped up in the likes of Carney Chukwuemeka, Andrey Santos, David Fofana and Cesare Casadei.

Sterling brings quality and experience to the front line and Noni Madueke adds directness. But the most exciting signing must be those of World Cup-winning midfielder Fernandez and £88.5m Mykhailo Mudryk – an attacker of true world-class potential and heir apparent to Eden Hazard.

The new arrivals will, of course, take time to settle and a few bumps along the road are to be expected as they do. But those setbacks should be readily endured given the glorious promise of the destination.

The course has been plotted and the vessel built – now it only remains for Potter and his star-studded crew to guide the Blues into Boehly’s brave new era.

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