Chelsea has done a wonderful job securing players manager Frank Lampard wants this summer, but the Blues still need a few more additions.
Chelsea has had a great transfer window so far, but it still needs to deliver Declan Rice and a new keeper in order to challenge in the upcoming season. The news is flowing out in droves that Chelsea is nearing the signing of Kai Havertz, the ball wizard from Bayer Leverkusen, for a massive fee and Thiago Silva from PSG on a free transfer. In addition, signs are pointing to manager Frank Lampard getting his first choice left back, Ben Chilwell, as rumors swirl that he may have already taken his physical with the club.
Added to the two fabulous earlier signings of Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, these additions make this window nothing short of amazing. Yet, the club can’t cease its efforts to improve just yet. There are two more deals to get over the line before settling in to watch the team challenge for trophies. The Blues need to lock up Declan Rice to solidify the back line and bring in a new No. 1 goalkeeper.
This window has to deliver what you might term, a “Magnificent Seven”. It shouldn’t end before that’s exactly what is accomplished and all seven (at least) are aboard. It could be said that it’s asking way too much of a club—any club—to bring seven new major players into the first team during a single window. No doubt, it would be a grand achievement, but expectations for Chelsea are not like those of just any team. They are of the highest magnitude; much higher than most teams, and there are extenuating circumstances in this particular window. The Blues have a unique opportunity to do something spectacular because of some special factors.
First, Chelsea has a manager that has the pull factor of a magnet. Lampard brings an aura, a mystique and real credentials—as an all-time great—to the table whenever a player is considering coming to Stamford Bridge. The importance of this attribute cannot be overstated, it’s a huge plus. When Lampard and Petr Cech call, players listen and they listen closely. It is clear that many of them, if given the opportunity, would jump at the chance to be a part of this Chelsea revolution. As we now know, it is not just young players either. Thiago Silva is an example of a senior player who wants to bring his career to a close as part of this developing squad.
Second, Chelsea was unable to deliver any players to Lampard last summer due to its transfer ban—excepting the pre-arranged Christian Pulisic deal and the post-loan signing of Mateo Kovacic. He was left to begin the season trying to fend off the Liverpool, the Manchester teams and other very good clubs with what was in the cupboard. So, he did what he had to do with aging players, a bunch of young, untested players and the few solid players that he had at his disposal. It was an up-and-down fall and early winter. Then, although expectations of fans and seemingly the gaffer himself were high that January would bring new talents to the squad, a decision was made to stand pat. And this was not a well-received decision by the fandom at all.
Yet, after the pandemic, suspension of play and two major adjustments, the club excelled. The major adjustments were the insertion of Olivier Giroud into the center forward position and a major self-adjustment to his playing style by American wunderkind, Christian Pulisic. Pulisic went from an inconsistent left winger, lacking an attacking bearing, to a focused player who slashed toward the goal in displays of attacking flair that hadn’t been seen since Eden Hazard left town. These two decisions—along with the last hurrah effort by the soon-to-be departing Willian—made all the difference. They got the biggest prize available to them, depending on how you view the FA Cup title, and earned Champions League qualification.
A third reason why the quest for this many top players is reasonable this particular offseason is dual-pronged. On the one hand, Chelsea has aggregated tremendous resources from the sale of players like Hazard and Alvaro Morata. On the other, with the new additions, the Blues are now in a position to offload multiple players who are surplus to requirements and aggregate even more funds to defray the cost of the additions. These funds can be hypothetically added to a normal spending window worth of funds to comprise much of what will have spent, but the two remaining necessary additions will not be bargain basement types either. Nor should they be.
Rice has the grit needed in a starting central defender for Chelsea. Playing and learning from Silva is a dream setup; yet, Silva will not be a full-time player this season. Expect 20-25 games or so from the soon-to-be 36-year-old. Chelsea has the capable Kurt Zouma and Antonio Rudiger in the squad, so Silva’s light workload isn’t such a bad thing after all. A decision has to be made by Lampard on Andreas Christensen and Fikayo Tomori is a good candidate for a Premier league loan. He needs playing time.
Next—and likely last—will be the addition of a new keeper. Kepa Arrizabalaga needs a new club, he shouldn’t be kept on in the new Chelsea. Both he and the club will benefit from his leaving either on loan or preferably by sale—there is no need to drag this saga out any further. Chelsea should buy a new keeper and install him immediately into the first team. This time, the Blues should be able to get it right. Regarding options they have, a great choice would be Andre Onana. He and other solid names have been floated. The Arrizabalaga experiment has not worked and it’s time to move on. A new keeper and a new beginning in the goal are essential for Chelsea.
With these two additional transfers in addition to the ones already seemingly on the way, Chelsea will indeed have brought in a plethora of magnificent players. The future will be bright; beginning in September, it’s a new era in west London.