Chelsea manager Frank Lampard will have some tough selection decisions with some world class additions, but how could the Blues line up next season?
Chelsea has had a particularly good season based on the fans’ pre-season expectations. Many supporters had no faith in the squad’s chances of qualifying for next season’s Europa League, let alone Champions League. The Premier League has been swept off its feet by one of the most mature young sides in Europe. Chelsea sits fourth in the table, despite a heap of injuries throughout an already turbulent year. There have been some hiccups along the way, but that is to be expected from a youthful squad with a second-year manager on the other side of a transfer ban.
Chelsea has looked to rectify this by adding depth to the squad in the attacking positions with the transfers of Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner. The Blues are also looking at bringing in Ben Chilwell to strengthen at left back. Chelsea is flexing its financial muscles and putting its money where its mouth is this offseason, adding some world class players to the squad, but not a lot of room to maneuver with on the team sheet.
This has led to a group with players capable of playing in multiple different positions. The midfield looks stacked for next season, with each midfielder bringing something new to the table and offering some much needed balance. In the midfield, the Blues have N’Golo Kante’s boundless energy; Mateo Kovacic’s Hazard-esque dribbling abilities, as well as his defensive prowess; Jorginho’s metronomic passes; Billy Gilmour’s youthful vigor and delightful passing into the final third; Mason Mount’s forward pressing and creativity around the 18-yard box; Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s physicality and Hakim Ziyech’s wide abilities and precise left-footed touches.
The defence is pretty much covered in terms of numbers, but there are question marks in regards to the players’ quality at left back and the inexperience of the centrebacks. The right back position has great depth with the likes of club captain Cesar Azpilicueta and young phenom Reece James. The fullback position on the opposite flank though has been a problem position with neither Emerson or Marcos Alonso doing enough to make the position their own. Emerson, after having a promising start under Lampard, has struggled after coming back from injury. His nadir was being substituted after just 30 minutes in the game against Arsenal in December. Alonso has been strong while played as a left wing-back, but his lack of pace has heightened his shortcomings when playing as a left back.
The centrebacks have been great at times, but their lack of experience has shown at various points with goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga not exuding the command and confidence needed by a top-tier gloveman. One reason behind this is the fact that there has not been a consistent centreback duo throughout the campaign. This is largely due to injuries to Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen have suffered at various points of the year. The four centrebacks at the club—Rudiger, Christensen, Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori—have been good individually, but have suffered from lapses of concentration at different junctures of matches as pairs.
The attack has been future proofed considerably over the past three months, after the signings of Werner and Ziyech. This will see the attack get younger after the expected departures of Willian and Pedro on free transfers. With the addition of Ziyech and Werner, Chelsea have not only added brilliant forwards, but forwards who are adaptable enough to play in different positions. This complement of strikers and wingers could see Chelsea have one of the more multi-dimensional attacks in the league.
The strikers have a great mix of pace, technical ability, and game sense. With Olivier Giroud extending his stay at Stamford Bridge for an additional season, he will be able to mentor Werner and Tammy Abraham on the finer aspects of centre forward play. Werner has the ability to play on the left wing due to him being a converted wide player, so he can be played in the same team as Abraham. Thus, allaying fears of Abraham not playing regularly.
So, here’s a look at the different ways Chelsea can line-up next season with the Blues’ two new additions.
1. 4-2-3-1
This formation has been the most commonly used by Lampard this season. With the new signings, he could use a variety of players in different positions and also play different tactics while using this formation.
In this setup the keeper would be Arrizabalaga, with the James and Azpilicueta at right back and left back respectively. The centreback duo to be employed could be Christensen (right centreback) and Rudiger (left centreback). This would be because Christensen has great passing ability and has a good aerial presence whereas Rudiger is quick and physical. The German is the only centreback who could play on the left-hand side. Rudiger has the added ability of giving those cross-field diagonal passes into the path of quick wingers.
Kante and Kovacic would be the duo in the middle of the park, with Kante giving that energy and defensive prowess. Kovacic offers a unique passing ability like Jorginho, but with added mobility while tackling and progressing with the ball up the field.
Since Werner and Ziyech have been a part of pressing systems, they won’t have a problem dealing with the pressing requirements. Ziyech has been used primarily as a central attacking midfielder for Ajax this season. But, Ziyech has also been played off the right wing. He adds that extra dimension with his chance creation through the centre, as well as wide positions. In this system, he’ll be employed as a right winger. With his trickery off the dribble and deceptive change of pace, he’ll thrive with his accurate left foot.
Mount will be played as the No. 10 in this system. This is because of his ability to lead the press effectively. He also can push onto the opposing defensive/deep-lying midfielder, thereby not allowing the opponent to dictate the passing game. Werner will be employed as a left winger with his pace and precise finishing giving him the advantage in one-on-one situations. He’s also shown the quality to create chances by himself without relying others.
Abraham will be the lone striker in this system. He has slowly developed his hold-up play over the course of this season, so that will allow Werner and Ziyech to play off him. It also puts him in great positions to capitalize on chances created by the three players behind him.
2. 4-3-3
This formation would have the same back five but, there are variations in midfield, as well as in attack. The midfield and attack configuration can go one of two ways.
The first way is with Kante, Kovacic and Jorginho as the midfield 3; the attack would be Werner off the left wing, Ziyech off the right wing and Abraham through the middle. This option makes use of Jorginho’s ability to recycle possession constantly. This will also allow Chelsea to keep possession of the ball more often than not. Jorginho’s underrated forward passing into the final third is also utilized better in this system of play.
The second way is with Kante, Kovacic and Ziyech as the midfield 3; the attack would change though with Werner and Abraham playing the same positions, but either Christian Pulisic or Callum Hudson-Odoi playing on the right. This would require Kante to be the deepest midfielder with Ziyech and Kovacic being more attack-minded. Pulisic or Hudson-Odoi would add an interesting dimension during attacking situations. They also would prove a horrifying proposition during counterattacks.
Playing with three in the midfield gives Chelsea the extra man to circulate the ball with ease. It also presents the option to alternate between playing the wide-men as either traditional wingers or inside forwards. All the possible wide-men have loads of pace and even the wizardry to beat their opposite fullback. Werner and Ziyech’s adaptability in this respect will be very crucial.
3. 4-4-2
This is a formation which has not been used by Lampard at all this season. This formation is generally thought of as an old school formation or one which is used by a so-called ‘limited team’. However, this is a formation can be used as a surprise to throw the opposition off. The back five will remain the same as the aforementioned and there are two ways this formation can be configured.
The first way is to play a midfield four in a diamond, almost like how Carlo Ancelotti set up the team during his double-winning season with the Blues. The deepest-lying midfielder in this formation would be Kante. The two advanced midfielders in front of him are Kovacic and Loftus-Cheek. Both these players have great dribbling ability, but they do it in different ways. Kovacic has a lower centre of gravity, which allows him to wiggle out of challenges with ease. Contrasting this with Loftus-Cheek’s technique, the Englishman relies on his physique and uses his body to protect the ball more effectively.
This will provide two interesting alternative ways of progressing the ball into the final third. They can switch positions to give the opposition some food for thought and not be too predictable. The midfield duo would also be able to dribble with ease because it has Kante to mop-up behind it, should it lose possession.
The man occupying the No. 10 role would be Ziyech as he has the freedom to wander out wide whenever given the chance. This freedom to either play wide or centrally gives him the opportunity to exploit different angles to create chances or even take shots from distance. He would be the focal point in the attack with the onus on him to create the chances. The two men up front would be Abraham and Werner. This would be an interesting take on the big man-little man combination. Werner could use his explosive pace to exploit the budding hold-up ability of Abraham. Abraham’s aerial skills will be vital, as well, in this case.
The second way is the midfield being a traditional four with Ziyech playing as a free second striker. The midfield would be from right-to-left: Pulisic, Kante, Kovacic and Hudson-Odoi. This makes up for the lack of width in the previous variant.
The wingers could bomb up and down and possibly counter the teams with attacking fullbacks by making them wary to push forward. This would nullify the attacking prowess and also add a different edge while on the front foot. Ziyech could dictate the pace of the match easily, without worrying about being marked because Kante and Kovacic would hound and harry the midfielder marking him. Werner would be the main striker and could utilize his pace and movement in the box to capitalize on chances created out wide and centrally.
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.