After an escape against the Villa on Wednesday night, it is clear to see that our defence is not perfect – yet.
Here we go through the remainder of our defence, and find out if we have enough to see ourselves crowned Champions in May 2014.
In his first spell at the club, Jose Mourinho rung the changes in almost every segment of the squad, so much so that an instant identity was formed for the team.
However, an outstanding feature the team became even more reputable for was the dogged structure of the defence.
Ever since Petr Cech was entrusted to man the posts, there has never been a doubt about who the first choice goalkeeper would be. However, the same cannot be said of the team’s back-up goalkeepers.
Whilst Cech provides stability on the forefront, the few times he gets excluded from the starting line-up due to injury and suspension, the big question of a replacement crops up.
After just a season at the Bridge, it seems Victor Moses could well be on his way to Everton, to link up with former boss, Roberto Martinez.
It took us five bids to prise him away from Wigan’s grasp last summer, and despite 34 appearances in all competitions last season, he failed to make a large impact on the side, and with Arouna Kone leaving Wigan for Everton already this summer, they would be keen to add another forward to their books.
Christian Benteke has shocked Paul Lambert and fans of Aston Villa by slapping in a transfer request on Monday,The Mirror reports.
The Belgian managed a fantastic debut season in the Premier League, scoring 40% of Villa’s league goals, as they avoided relegation to the Championship by just five points.
Despite rumours the Midlands club were set to double his salary to upwards of £40,000 per week, the 22 year old has expressed his desire to leave the club, with Chelsea leading the line ready to pounce.
It was clear as soon as we stepped up the chance for Marco van Ginkel, that he was going to want first-team action should he join, his agent telling press that he certainly wouldn’t be transferring anywhere without a guarantee of first-team action next season.
Understandably so too, the 20 year old has a fantastic chance of his opening World Cup campaign, and Louis van Gaal has expressed his wish for players to be playing consistently in the run up, or they simply won’t be picked.
With the confirmed signing of Andre Schurrle from Bayer Leverkusen for £18m, how will Jose Mourinho balance all the attacking talent at his disposal and who will be left out of his plans?
Fernando Torres has not had the best of times since arriving at Stamford Bridge but could his recent form for the Spanish national team continue at club level?
The summer transfer window is also known as ‘silly season’ by some, and a few of the rumours being banded about certainly make that phrase seem spot on.
Firstly, Andre Schurrle’s signature was finally tied up, in a deal that most of us probably already thought was completed. The 22-year-old has signed up on a five year deal that saw £18m head to Bayer Leverkusen in exchange for him.
One outgoing was also confirmed today, as the young Dutch defender Jeffrey Bruma returned to Holland, to join up with PSV on a four-year deal. He had spent the last three seasons on loan, at Leicester City and Hamberg, and with just nine appearances in six seasons for us, it made sense to let him go.
Even after Mourinho departed the club in 2007, it’s fair to say that the opportunities given to our talented youth players in the Chelsea squad have been rather limited.
It was dubbed as the ‘£20 million’ match before kickoff. The winner would be rewarded with Champions League football, and more importantly for Chelsea, some much needed finance; A far cry from the free-spending ways of today.
Despite the squad being littered with stars such as Gianfranco Zola, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, and the then baby faced Frank Lampard, it was Jesper Grønkjær that stole the show as we faced Liverpool.
When a squad is overhauled with technical brilliance in the midfield it is often the unattractive, more defensive player that loses out as the manager tries to squeeze as much creativity into the midriff.
This seems to be what is happening at Chelsea right now with ESPN reporting that Jon Obi Mikel will be making a switch to Turkish side Galatasaray.
Okay, maybe it is not just because of his position, as Mikel has come under some flack this season for his somewhat lacking performances and Rafa Benitez preferred Ramires and even David Luiz in the more defensive positions and it seems Jose Mourinho is not interested in giving him a chance.
There is no doubt who was star of the show as Napoli finished a commendable 2nd place finish in Serie A, just 6 points behind the winners Juventus.
Edinson Cavani scored 29 of the Azzuri’s 73 goals in Serie A last season and has once again become hot property around Europe’s elite clubs. The 26-year old has dramatically improved over the last year or two, and that could well lead to him pursuing a career away from Naples, and most likely in England.
Eden Hazard – 7.30
Ever since announcing he would become a Chelsea player on Twitter last summer, he has had a lot to live up to, and it seems he has, collecting thewhoscored.com Chelsea player of the season, with an impressive 7.30 average rating last season.
He has many people’s choice to join us at the Bridge due to his flexibility across the midfield, playing comfortably in both the centre, and the left or right attacking midfield positions, though the large majority of them came from the left side of the trio this year.
Juan Mata – 7.24
There is no doubt who our player of the season was last season. Juan Mata collected 6 goals and 13 assists from his Premier League season, as from then on, he has gone from strength to strength.
It was maybe harsh he didnt collect the award again statistically this season, but when you see the man that got it, you can understand why.
