How Chelsea could line up with Werner and Ziyech next season

4. 3-4-3

This is the most interesting formation possibility. This formation has been used intermittently by Lampard this season. Coming up with three centrebacks for this formation would be a difficult ask, but Lampard could take a page out of Conte’s playbook during his second season with Chelsea. He could go for an Azpilicueta, Christensen and Rudiger back three.

This has been tried and tested as Azpilicueta would calm down the defense. Azpilicueta’s one-on-one defensive ability will come in handy in this situation. He also can give provide those angled aerial through balls to Abraham, like he did for Alvaro Morata. But, the added advantage here is Abraham’s superior hold-up play in this scenario.

The wingbacks in this case would be James and Alonso. James’ crossing abilities on his day could rival Trent Alexander-Arnold; they’re that quality. He also has the added benefit of being defensively sound and with less space to run, he would be more lethal with his crosses. Alonso has time and time again proved his critics wrong whenever he has played at left wing-back. He’s also possibly the best wing-back in the world, if there is such a thing. His additional potentness, especially in attacking scenarios, with his constant gallops into the final third would be a constant threat.

The midfield duo would be Kovacic and Kante, the merits of which have been discussed earlier. Now, the attack would have a very interesting and fluid configuration. The three forwards can be configured in two ways with either two inside forwards with a single striker up front or two strikers with a single No 10.

The first way would see Ziyech and Werner as the inside forward duo, but the single striker would be Giroud. The reason being the fact that Giroud has an excellent footballing brain. He would use his technique to bring Werner and Ziyech into play in the final third. He’s tall, as well, which could come in handy when he’s brought into play from crosses.

The second way would see Ziyech in the No. 10 role with Abraham and Werner leading the charge, which was discussed in the 4-4-2 diamond configuration.

From this analysis, we see the squad will be used in a number of ways. This allows for plugging players in different positions and situations. This would be a great proposition, but there still needs to be a lights out left back to be signed. In addition, the Blues could probably use another keeper to truly perfect the side.

Even with these signings, this would not immediately turn Chelsea into title contenders as these signings would need approximately a season to bed in. This would, however, cement Chelsea position in the top three and pave the way towards a sustained challenge in the 2021/22 Premier League season.