Chelsea will be starting another Premier League campaign under a new era.
The Blues have not had a stable manager since 2022 and that has not helped their cause, as results have been mixed around the time as well. The London club are under the tutelage of their fourth permanent manager since BlueCo took over two years ago.
Previously, they have had Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino who were all deemed not good enough to lead Chelsea. In this 2024/25 campaign, the Blues are set to be led by Enzo Maresca – who is managing in the Premier League as a head coach for the first time. All eyes will be on the new manager and Chelsea tickets will equally be in top demand as the new campaign progresses.
Despite their struggles last season, Chelsea managed to pick one of the spots in Europe – the Europa Conference League.
As they come into this new campaign, here is a look at the chances of the Blues in the Premier League title race among other things.
Chelsea’s summer transfer window business so far
Chelsea has been quite active in the transfer market. They have even made signings for the future as BlueCo continued to spend recklessly in the window.
Despite the big fees paid for the likes of Moises Caicedo, Axel Disasi and the likes last summer, Chelsea have done a couple of others this summer as they look to strengthen the side. As part of their recruitment strategy, the club settled for U23 players.
Midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has followed Enzo Maresca from Leicester City, while Tosin Adarabioyo made the short trip across London from Fulham on a free transfer. Marc Guiu (Barcelona), Omar Kellyman (Aston Villa), Renato Veiga (Basel), Filip Jorgensen (Villarreal), and Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United) were the other new signings by the club.
In terms of outgoings, Thiago Silva joined Brazilian side Fluminense, with Ian Maatsen and Omari Hutchinson having made Premier League moves to Aston Villa and Ipswich, respectively. Diego Moreira also completed a permanent transfer to RC Strasbourg. Hakim Ziyech (free), Omari Hutchinson, Lewis Hall, Michael Golding, Malang Sarr, and Charlie Webster were the other players who have left the club. As of the time of writing, Conor Gallagher’s move to Atlético Madrid has stalled and both teams are still discussing ways to find a solution.
In his presser before the season opener against Manchester City, Maresca had this to say about one of his players struggling for game time – Chilwell: “When you train every day and not get any minutes it is not good for them or me and I need to make a decision. Probably it is better to leave and go and get minutes. The transfer window is open so we will see what will happen.”
Looking at the club’s large squad, players like Romelu Lukaku and other surplus to requirements might have to find a home elsewhere. In addition, Chelsea might be looking to find some solutions to other positions in the squad, especially the centre forward role.
Chelsea’s Chances in the Premier League
Following a strong finish to the 2023/24 campaign, the Blues finished in the top six of the Premier League log and they got a spot in the UEFA Conference League. Although the fans were not too pleased with playing in that third-tier competition, it is still progress from what they achieved in the previous campaign. Chelsea was already looking perfect in the final days of Pochettino but his shock sacking has thrown all of that into the bin.
In preparation for this current campaign, the Blues won only one of their preseason games with half of the six games played ending in defeats. Based on that, the signs are not great for them but the players are fully aware of what they need to achieve this season.
When asked about his team, Maresca said this: “We are doing well since day one. We are improving things. We started just one month ago, so it is too early for the team to be where I want it to be. But I am quite happy because in terms of the process; I think the team is ahead of where I expected, so that is important. For me, game after game, day after day, I can see the team is improving.”
A lot has been said about the manager at Stamford Bridge being a Pep Guardiola stooge, but Maresca has refuted such claims.
He explains: ‘I worked under (Carlo) Ancelotti as a player, (Marcello) Lippi as a player, (Manuel) Pellegrini as a player, and then I worked with Pep for two seasons at Manchester City. I try to take things from all of them and create my box to put everything inside.
‘I do not consider Pep a manager, I consider him a genius because he is ahead of the rest. When you are with him and close, of course, you try to see things and learn to create your idea [as a coach].’
Chelsea has not challenged for the title in recent years. Instead, has been the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool going for it. With Maresca just making his debut as a manager in the elite division as well, it might be difficult to think too much about this current Chelsea squad.
“We are going to try and do our best to win games,” Maresca said about the task ahead of him at the club.
“The big difference between us, in this moment, and other teams is that it is just a matter of time. Some clubs work with a manager for eight years, so with time we will close the gap and hopefully, that can happen soon.
“Sometimes it (time) sounds like an excuse from managers and I know the timing in football is difficult, but in our case with the process and ideas we will close the gap.
“We need their (fans) support because when you are on the pitch and you can hear the fans behind the team it is like 12 players. If they support us and be patient then we will pay them back with performance and results.”
Chelsea needs a bit of stability and Maresca could be the solution to that but not in the immediate. As he pleaded, the fans will have to be patient with them even when results do not go their way.