Chelsea’s few summer transfers proved their value against Everton

Chelsea did not sign many players in the summer transfer window. Fortunately, those they did acquire are paying off across all competitions in the Blues’ packed schedule.

Tiemoue Bakayoko was the only summer signing not to play against Everton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. Five of the starting XI and one substitute were summer arrivals. Of the remaining starters, only three were in Chelsea’s first team last season. Willian and Gary Cahill were the only starters on Wednesday who were regulars in the title-winning squad.

For a team that takes considerable stick for not playing youth, this is a remarkable achievement. Antonio Conte may feel that necessity is the mother of rotation, as injuries and obvious fatigue among his best XI forced him to make so many changes. Even so, Antonio Conte has said from the beginning that he intends to integrate more youth into the first team and strengthen the development pipeline.

While Charly Musonda and Ethan Ampadu were the encouragingly heart-warming members of the squad, the core of the side that defeated Everton were the summer transfers. Willy Caballero showed that a free transfer does not mean “not worth it.” He made several reaction saves that dismissed comments about his age. Neither Thibaut Courtois nor Asmir Begovic could have done any better than the Argentine.

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Antonio Rudiger provided a more aggressive (sometimes too much so) and speedier option on defence alongside the conservative Andreas Christensen and stolid Gary Cahill. Rudiger will not replace any of Chelsea’s regulars, but he complements all of them. In any formation and defensive line-up, his entrance as a starter or sub is a new dimension for the Blues’ back-line.

The midfield (to include the wing-backs) was a completely novel creation. Three of the starters were not at Chelsea a few months ago, and the other was a Blue in name only. Davide Zappacosta was the most skillful player on the pitch. His changes of pace on the ball, accelerations down the touchline and slick dribbling showed his technical abilities that need to be refined by Antonio Conte’s tactics.

Danny Drinkwater demonstrated a little bit of everything that Chelsea already have in midfield, all in one package. He passed like Cesc Fabregas. He tackled like Tiemoue Bakayoko. He controlled space like N’Golo Kante. Drinkwater’s overall quality is closer to Bakayoko’s than it is to Fabregas’ or Kante’s. But he is strong enough in each capacity to fill in for any of them. And he is versatile enough to complete any midfield set-up Antonio Conte has in mind.

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If these players do nothing more than permit their equivalents in Chelsea’s best XI to take a midweek night off for a domestic tie, they will have served their purpose. Antonio Conte wants to go deep in every competition. He is not willing to throw away a domestic cup to preserve the Premier League or Champions League race. With transfers like these, he will not need to.

Chelsea are on a run of seven games in 22 days. After the November international break they will maintain the rhythm of a game every three or four days until early January. After a short breather in January of merely one game a week, the Champions League knock-out rounds kick-off as will the FA Cup.

Rest will be at a premium for the players Antonio Conte needs most. Cesar Azpilicueta, N’Golo Kante, Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtios and the others in the best XI can sleep easy – literally and figuratively – knowing that Ampadu, Drinkwater, Zappacosta and Caballero can keep the domestic cup, league and European dreams alive.

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And after the way they played on Wednesday, those new arrivals could find themselves taking some Premier League minutes off the others’ hands, as well.