The most recent addition to Chelsea is Joao Pedro, a Brazilian who previously played for Watford and Brighton & Hove Albion. However, his arrival raises a crucial question: where will he play? Now, Enzo Maresca’s team has a lot of depth in every position.
Following the successful takeover in 2022, American investor Todd Boehly has not hesitated to spend a significant amount of money to increase the west Londoners’ hopes of competing with teams like Manchester City.
Their large investment hasn’t yielded much as of this writing, despite their Europa Conference League win. However, since Boehly took over, they have been hoarding some of the most promising players in the beautiful game.
There is now a chart that shows how loaded Chelsea is in almost every position on the field. Let’s take a look at everything from their assortment of players at the opposite end of the field to their collection of seven senior goalkeepers on the bloated books.
Chelsea Goalkeepers
Robert Sanchez, Filip Jorgensen and Djordje Petrovic included
One of Maresca’s most pressing problems to resolve this summer is in between the sticks. Djordje Petrovic is admired by three Premier League clubs, and Robert Sanchez, who was signed from (surprise, surprise!) Brighton & Hove Albion, has been a patchy performance for the Blues.
There is a long list of promising goalkeepers, including Filip Jorgensen, below the two named above. Out of all the players, Dane, 23, has the best chance of taking Sanchez’s place. He was given 24 games in the previous campaign.
Although the 27-year-old Spaniard has made 58 appearances for the capital club as of this writing, Maresca and his staff may decide to replace him sooner rather than later due to doubts about his skill.
Up-and-coming players Mike Penders, Lucas Bergstrom, Gabriel Slonina, and one of the tallest football players, Lucas Bergstrom, may have the opportunity to establish themselves in the future, but for the time being at least, they will be relegated to the bench or sent out on loan.
Maresca of Chelsea Defenders has a wealth of back line options.
Chelsea presently has nine possible center-backs in their roster, which takes squad depth to an a new level of madness. Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill should be the two regular starters when healthy, but what does it mean for the other players?
Trevoh Claboah, Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, and Tosin Adarabioyo are among the players who will be hoping to play a significant amount of minutes in the forthcoming season. It is unclear, though, if they will all remain past the summer.
Many defenders will compete for a starting position on the right-hand side, although Reece James will play the most of the game if healthy. Josh Acheampong and Alfie Gilchrist are future leaders; Malo Gusto has been a good deputy.
Although the left-hand side is less problematic, Maresca, who is 45 years old, still has three options for the next campaign. Ben Chilwell and Caleb Wiley will try to unseat the Spaniard, while Marc Cucurella is the clear favorite.
Two excellent starters for Chelsea are midfielders Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.
As one might anticipate after spending over £100 million on both Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, Chelsea’s engine room is also stocked with quality. Additionally, both players are anticipated to be consistent starters for the money spent on their respective signings. Additionally, there is Romeo Lavia.
The youthful player, who is only 21 years old, was acquired from Southampton, a south coast team, in the summer of 2023. By joining Chelsea’s double pivot, he might be the ideal counterpoint to enable Fernandez to move more forward.
But going forward, Maresca and his team will continue to struggle with selection due to the Blues’ endless supply of central midfielders. Both Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Lesley Ugochuwku, who was on loan last season, are good choices.
Arsenal-related After his brief stint at Strasbourg, Andrey Santos is also anticipated to return looking for more playing time, but will Maresca be able to provide it? He will have to compete with Omari Kellyman and Dario Essugo for a bench spot, let alone a starting position.
Nicolas Jackson and Liam Delap are the Chelsea forwards vying for the striker spot.
Joao Pedro is undoubtedly great, as mentioned, but there are questions regarding where he will play for the capital club. Cole Palmer, who is regarded as one of the greatest players in the Premier League, will be his opponent if he chooses to start at number 10.
Behind a one-man striker unit, Christopher Nkunku, whose future at the club is in jeopardy, performs well. When it comes to center strikers, Chelsea has four outstanding options, including Liam Delap, who was just signed.
The Winchester-born talisman, lured away from Ipswich Town, will have to compete for a starting spot against 14-cap Senegal international Nicolas Jackson. That’s before considering Armando Broja and former Barcelona great Marc Guiu. The same problem exists with the wings.
Joao Felix, Mykhailo Mudryk, who has been charged by the FA for doping offenses, and others are fighting for a spot in the team, and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens’ presence is just going to make things more difficult out left. Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke, and Pedro Neto are all following suit on the right.
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