Chelsea was by far one of the most consistent teams of Europe in 2021 among many other top teams. The Londoners gained unexpected momentum under new boss Thomas Tuchel who took over the reins in January from Lampard. And the more the team was bad under former club legend Lampard, the more it improved under the former PSG man. Eventually, his hard work, brilliant tactical play, and management resulted in the Blues winning the most coveted trophy. The club from North London won the elusive Champions League trophy this year beating Manchester City in the finals. They finished fourth in the Premier League table on 67 points. The only low point of their illustrious campaign was the FA cup final loss against Leicester. Apart from that, Tuchel’s men got their 2020-21 finished off in style.
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Now we will take a quick look at the business that Chelsea has made in this transfer window. It’s no wonder that the Chelsea board is one of the most efficient when it comes to handling the incoming and outgoing players. Once again, they were on top of their work bringing in some quality players along with the departure of a few. And so, let’s see snapshots of the transfer activity done by the Champions of Europe in the busiest window ever.
Player Incomings
Romelu Lukaku
The most mentionable player that the Blues have brought in this season is their former striker Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian comes into the side from newly-crowned Italian champions Inter Milan where he played an instrumental role in their title-winning campaign. He was signed for a Premier League all-time record fee of £97.5M. Lukaku was one of the most consistent goalscorers in the SerieA last season with over 24 goals and 11 assists. In all, he had registered a total of 47 goals in 72 appearances for Internazionale spreading over two seasons. No wonder he brings a lot of balance into the Chelsea side with his killer instinct inside the penalty box. The only thing did the Champions miss last season was a perfect no.9 or a consistent striker. Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, or Olivier Giroud failed to live up to the expectations and it troubled the team many times.
Now in Lukaku, they have got a perfect poacher inside the box who won’t let any chance miss his way. His physicality and aerial prowess is also an invaluable asset for Thomas Tuchel’s men. Decorated with all the elements that a striker should have, the Belgian was the missing piece of the puzzle that Chelsea missed so dearly last season. Now, It remains to be seen whether he can perform in line with his caliber aNd stature.
Saul Niguez
Another high-profile player that Chelsea has secured the services is Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez. The deal was done in the dying hours of the deadline day on 31st August. It was a bolt from the blue as a few days ago it was reported that the deal has fallen off. But in the last hours, the Blues did some extraordinary piece of work to have the Spaniard on loan. (for a fee of €5 M). The versatile, multi-utility Spanish midfield maestro is one of the most consistent performers in Europe right now. He has the ability to play in multiple positions for his side and that increases his importance in any team.
Saul can play as a defensive midfielder, as an attacking wing-back, and also as a left-back. It’s time to see now how Thomas Tuchel uses him this season as all those positions have already established players. He possesses that capability of controlling the midfield for his side as well as stuns with his excellent range of passing. His dribbling and tackling qualities are also top-notch which will be quite useful for them. Chelsea’s midfield now can boast of some big names with the Inception of Niguez. The Atletico academy player will be first looking forward to cementing his place in the starting lineup. If he gets starts, undoubtedly he can give performances that are worthy of keeping him in the side.
Player departures
Along with the incoming of two key players in the squad, Chelsea has also sold a lot to balance the finances They have approximately done an accumulated sell of over £130 M in this transfer window. That’s why the arrival of such a high-cost player like Lukaku doesn’t affect the FFP rules too much. The departure that made the headlines were as follows:-
1) Tammy Abraham went to AS ROMA for a fee of £34 M. It’s certainly a bonus for Chelsea to get such a fee for the 23-year-old striker.
2) Fikayo Tomori departed permanently for AC Milan. The Rossoneri’s secured his services permanently by paying £25 M.
3) Another Blues defender, French international Kurt Zouma joined Westham in the eleventh hour of the transfer window. The Hammers paid an amount of £30 M to get him.
4) Italian wingback, Davide Zappacosta left Chelsea and signed for Atalanta on a four-year deal. The fee is believed to be around €10 M.
5) Nigerian international Victor Moses has joined Spartak Moscow permanently after a successful loan spell for about €5 M.
6) Tiémoué Bakayoko, the French midfielder, followed his teammate Tomori’s path and will play for Milan next season. Chelsea and Milan have agreed on a fee of £16.5 M for him.
7) The most high-profile departure was that of veteran striker Olivier Giroud leaving the Blues. He also joined Milan for €1 M + €1 M(in bonuses).
8) Brazilian left-back Emerson signed for Olympique Lyonnais on loan from the London Giants. The loan amount is €500 K + €500 K (bonus)
9) Michy Batshuayi joined Besiktas
10) Billy Gilmour joined Norwich City on Loan.
Apart from these big ones, there were a lot of not-so-big names leaving the club too. Ethan Ampadu, Danny Drinkwater, Willy Caballero, and a few also went out on loan for the rest of the season.
Upcoming Season Expectations from Chelsea
With such an appreciable squad depth, Chelsea is destined to go for big trophies this season. They have almost ready replacements for players at every position. This squad strength will come to the fore when there will be matches within short times. And that’s where Chelsea will get the edge over other teams. They will definitely go all out to win the PL this season firstly. The Champions League also remains in close sight for the Londoners and a treble might be possible for them. It all will depend on how they can keep their consistency in the crunch parts of the season. If Tuchel’s all key players remain fit and fine, their dreams won’t take any rocket science to become reality. Chelsea is clearly the frontrunner now on the track to become Europe’s elite club once again.
Conclusion
As the season starts off, there will be loads of expectations for Thomas Tuchel’s men to perform well on the big stage from the fans. If they keep a balance between the expectations as well as their performance, success is destined to come. Let’s see how they will fare post the pandemic. Don’t even miss a single match of this Chelsea team or otherwise, you will lose the chance to see some top quality, entertaining, and enthralling football from the Londoners.
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