Three areas on the pitch Chelsea have no room for sloppy transfers

The transfer season is finally here and Chelsea have the perfect time to put together a great team once again. But they must be more careful than usual in their selection.

Instability and uncertainty are looming large now more than ever at Chelsea. Antonio Conte is set to leave despite having a successful two years. In addition, players, for lack of character and discipline or simply seeking “better things”, have been linked to other teams in Europe. Amongst those players are Willian, David Luiz, Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois.

Nevertheless, whatever happens with Conte and the mentioned players, the Chelsea board have a perfect opportunity to build a great squad for next season with the World Cup up ahead. The one month festival of football can reveal the greatest talents around the world. This is a perfect opportunity for Chelsea to pick and choose who will play in a blue shirt next season.

Defense: Stability and depth

Although Chelsea had the likes of Gary Cahill, Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger, it was still not enough. Christensen, despite (because of?) being so young and talented, made dreadful mistakes that cost Chelsea crucial games. And unfortunately, for other games, the back line faltered far too often.

The blues need a defender who has experience and steps up when the rest cannot. Someone who is tactical and can challenge the rest for a spot in the starting XI.

Furthermore, with David Luiz surely on his way out of the club for a second time, Chelsea need a replacement who can bring stability to the back-line and support rotation. The Blues will still be playing for a European cup next season, along with the rest of the domestic competitions. If the players do not have the proper rest the next season will look a lot like this one, or worse. Whoever the next manager is, or even if Conte stays, Chelsea need to restore their historical dominance on defence.

Midfield: Looking for the next Fabregas

One would think that with the amount of midfielders in the squad, Chelsea are set for the next two seasons. Sadly, some of these players do not make the cut.

Leaving N’Golo Kante aside, every other midfielder at Chelsea has had an off / terrible / irrelevant season in terms of their performances. Tiemoue Bakayoko will want to forget this season as soon as possible. The defensive midfielder started with some impressive performances, but shortly after, everything went down the drain, and even lower. So bad, that every time he played and touched the ball, every fan closed their eyes and prayed to the skies.

However, to his credit, Bakayoko impressed towards the end of the season, including the FA Cup final by showing he really is a great player. Hopefully he brings some consistency to his game and dominates next season.

On the other hand, Danny Drinkwater and Ross Barkley had a season where one cannot rate them. This is due to injuries and lack of playing time. But when fit (if that ever actually happened), their performances were so insignificant to the team it is impossible to give them a grade. One or the other must go.

Cesc Fabregas, unfortunately, has been in a slow and steady decline since the end of last season. Although the Spaniard played a big role with Antonio Conte this campaign, certain deficiencies will soon make him a liability. To make matters worse, he has not been as clinical and defensive-breaking with his passing. This was one of the many reasons why Chelsea failed to create chances throughout the season. Fabregas is indeed a great players, but Chelsea will want to part ways with him before things turn sour.

Related Story: Quality gap between transfer windows stranded Antonio Conte

Chelsea must look for one, even two, midfield players who can be quick with their feet and their head, particularly in the attack. The Blues already have enough defensive power to hold most opponents, and while defending is highly important, one cannot win games without creating chances. A player who controls the tempo of the game and can break a defense apart is a must this summer.

Wing-backs: Yes, wing-backs not forwards

If Conte and Chelsea do part ways, the next manager has to realize this “three-man back line / two wing-backs” system is now the norm at the club. Chelsea have adjusted perfectly to it and have exploited the best of their players with it. However, they need more quality on the flanks to make it work.

Chelsea currently have Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses as starters and Emerson Palmieri and Davide Zappacosta as back-ups. In 2016/17 this would have been more than enough to win the Premier League, the FA Cup and even the Carabao Cup. But in any level of Europe, it isn’t.

For starters, the only consistent player out of the four is Marcos Alonso. The rest will have a good game and completely disappear on the next. The team cannot afford that any longer. Even Moses, who can make a tremendous difference going forward, simply does not cut it at times. Meanwhile, Emerson and Zappacosta seem to lack connection and understanding with their team-mates and quality in a lot of areas.

If Chelsea want to win anything at all next season, and build on that for the coming years, their transfer selections must be well-planned. The shortlist of players has to be decisive. One that sends a message of intent to other teams. No more of the “let’s get this guy and see what happens” sort of list, which clearly led to disasters all over the pitch this season.

Next: Chelsea need to think through consequences of selling Willian to Man U

The World Cup will serve as a great event for the Blues to bring in new players. And if these three areas are reinforced with quality players who match the manager’s ambitions and tactics, there is no reason why next season can not be a successful one.