Chelsea: Additions needed up front for next season

Chelsea Football Club must now look ahead to the 2020/21 season and not look back as much more needs to be done before September. First look, the forwards.

Chelsea has made a terrific beginning to the summer transfer window. They have signed two world class forwards in ball magician Hakim Ziyech and clinical finisher/sharpshooter Timo Werner. Those two additions alone would provide a great window for most clubs but Chelsea is not just any club. The goals are titles and silverware and nothing short of that will do.

Not having achieved either in 2019/20, finishing top four and Champions League qualification is a consolation prize though there will be no consoling Chelsea fans for the loss to Arsenal in the FA Cup final. That bad taste will linger for weeks or longer. With that in mind, there is more to do at forward than Werner and Ziyech.

Chelsea is strong on the hunt for master craftsman, Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen. Havertz is a passing wizard and also a good finisher in his own right. While he can play in midfield and would likely be slotted in there, he also possesses great versatility. He can play anywhere in the front line as well. For the sake of this discussion, he’ll be considered a forward.

Havertz’s addition will add three top forwards to Chelsea’s attack that was sorely lacking for much of the 2019/20 season. But that’s not enough. The injury to Christian Pulisic against Arsenal pointed out how fragile the club is in attack and that strength in depth is an absolute necessity. The fate of a match or many matches can’t be held hostage to the loss of one or even two forwards in attack or anywhere else, for that matter. Chelsea will lose Pedro and possibly Willian shortly. They still need another top forward after Havertz to further bolster the attack and provide that needed depth.

The choice here is Said Benrahma from Brentford. Benrahma lit up the Championship last season with 17 goals and nine assists. There is a method to this choice. With the additions of Ziyech, Werner, and hopefully Havertz and Benrahma, Chelsea is setting a new standard for its forwards. Essentially, all will not only be able to provide assists to their teammates, but all are equally capable of scoring themselves. And scoring in bunches.

Adding those four outstanding talents to Christian Pulisic, Tammy Abraham, Olivier Giroud, and Callum Hudson-Odoi will provide Chelsea with a lethal attack with the depth to withstand the injuries that will inevitably ensue and to allow needed rest to prevent those injuries. And unfortunately for Chelsea, there have been injuries of late. These eight forwards (although again, Havertz is a multi role talent) provide a lethal attack for Chelsea. They add solid depth to field excellence at all forward positions in all four competitions in which the club will engage next season. They will still field outstanding talent when starters are rested and for cup games.

One note here is that there is no mention of Mason Mount. Mount is a tremendous emerging talent but his best position is attacking midfield. Playing on the left in midfield, Mount will be able to drive the ball ahead to the forwards and even provide some finishing ability himself, though he needs to work that aspect of his game. His presence will further bolster the attack from that position, but midfield will be discussed later.

To sum things up at forward for 2020/21, Chelsea has already made a major splash in bringing in the multi talented Ziyech and Werner. Tremendous talent. It is looking increasingly likely they will further bolster the attack with the addition of Kai Havertz. (But as Yogi Berra would say, in that situation, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over”. We’ll see.) Add Benrahma to that group and the returning stars, and things will look bright for Chelsea Football Club in attack next season. There will be goals scored. But much more will still need to be accomplished in this window with new additions to the squad. The next look will be midfield.