Bold predictions for Chelsea and the Premier League in 2020/21

Who will be Chelsea’s surprise player of the season?

Vansh: Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Amidst all the signings and the talk about youth, Premier League has forgotten about Ruben Loftus-Cheek. While RLC has been promising for the Blues throughout, PL fans seem to write him off on every occasion. This is the season where RLC wrestles his way into the starting XI and shows everyone what he is made of.

Scott: Hakim Ziyech. With all the high profile transfer this window, it will by Ziyech with his ridiculous amount of assists that surprise both his teammates and fans.

Varun: Callum Hudson-Odoi. He’s been buried by the media and written off by the fanbase and that is exactly why he’s going to prove everybody wrong. He’ll provide vital squad depth and give Pulisic and Ziyech a run for their money.

Matthew: Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The Blues have spent big on new additions and all come with high expectation and European pedigree. However, it is one of the club’s longer serving players I believe may have a breakthrough season. Ruben Loftus-Cheek was finally establishing himself as a key figure in the starting XI before the devastating injury that ruled him out for the best part of a year. With N’Golo Kante suffering with injury issues of his own and Jorginho falling out of fan favor, there is room in the center of the park for Loftus-Cheek to get himself back in the starting XI. With the Euros next year this could be the biggest season yet for the Englishman.

Gabe: N’Golo Kante. Kante’s absence last season weighed heavily on the defense. The back line and Kepa Arrizabalaga looked horrible and while a majority of that burden is on them, Kante’s injury played a part in the disaster as well. The Frenchman’s injuries took a huge toll on the team as a whole. Now, with him looking to return to health—and to his old position—Kante will be almost like an all new signing for Chelsea. A lot of people have speculated he’s past it or the Blues should sell him, but that couldn’t be any further from the truth. When on the pitch, he’s the best defensive midfielder in the world, no ifs, ands or buts about it. He’ll silence all of his doubters this season, regardless of whether he plays in a double pivot with Mateo Kovacic or deputizes the defensive midfield on his own. Lampard has stated on numerous occasions that Kante has a massive role to play in this side, it’s hard to disagree with the gaffer. If not for the critics and injuries, it wouldn’t be a surprise Player of the Season, but here we are.

Nate Hofmann: To call the previous campaign a “lost season” for Callum Hudson-Odoi would be a bit harsh, but it was certainly not the trajectory the club would have been hoping for. That’s partly due to his slow return from an awful injury and the rise of Christian Pulisic right as Hudson-Odoi was ready to make his return. Add in a problematic COVID hiatus and Lampard’s unwillingness to use the young Englishman when the season resumed, and you have an underwhelming year. It’s worth wondering if his massive new contract might have added some psychological pressure that wasn’t there when he was just a rising youth player.

Headed into the new season, however, the path to Hudson-Odoi becoming a major contributor is suddenly wide open. He and Pulisic are the only two wingers Lampard has spent real time working with, and Pulisic and newcomer Hakim Ziyech are both nursing some (hopefully) minor knocks with the first matches just around the corner. He looked like one of Chelsea’s sharpest players in the friendly against Brighton, even if his assist for Timo Werner’s goal was mostly a botched attempt to score from a header. Given the uncertainty in both health and cohesion in the winger position, Hudson-Odoi will likely see some major minutes in the early weeks of this season. An impactful start could put his burgeoning career back on the path many expected him to be on. I think we’ve all forgotten just how good he can be, and I’m betting he’ll remind us this season.

Nathaniel Kay: N’Golo Kante. After a torrid time through injury, the French finally returns to full fitness and it is like he’s never been away. Making tackles, covering every blade of grace, graceful in possession and dogged out of it. The Kante of old returns to run the midfield, adding that cover to allow his more creative team mates license to kill in the final third. An assist or a goal here and there is welcome, but all Chelsea want is the all-conquering Kante back in midfield.

Wilfred: Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Remember this guy? You will at season’s end. Despite all the comings and goings, it’ll be the academy graduate who excels beyond expectations this year, principally by playing 15 more games than you think he will, and backing that up with a “Michael Ballack at Bayern Munich” stat sheet.

Michael: Fikayo Tomori. The end of last season was difficult to watch at times for Chelsea fans, who were subjected to some comical defensive football. There weren’t many strong center back performances from Antonio Rudiger, Kurt Zouma, or Andreas Christensen, and it never made sense to me why Tomori was just sitting on the bench. He was injured towards the end of last season, but was available for a few games at the very end. Lampard never gave him a chance though. Even if he doesn’t start every match, I would like to see the Tomori-Thiago Silva partnership develop, and hopefully the veteran Brazilian will be able to pass some knowledge to the inexperienced Englishman.

Olaoluwa: Hakim Ziyech. This is may seem an odd selection because a lot of hype has been surrounding the new signings, but Ziyech would still surprise many still. Majority of the fans have tagged Kai Havertz as the key signing of the season but that is far from the truth, even Havertz thrives off good service and Ziyech would provide that service. Ziyech embodies everything Chelsea needs in an attacker. Work rate, creativity, finishing and set pieces. Several fans expect Ziyech to be very good, but they’re not quite ready for what they’ll see.

Abhishek: Thiago Silva. The veteran Brazilian center back is not the kind of signing Chelsea have been known to make in recent years. Not much is expected from him, but he will prove to be an inspired acquisition. Thiago Silva will be the first name on the teamsheet in the Premier League and the Champions League for Chelsea. His experience and leadership will transform the Chelsea backline into an impenetrable wall, as he barks instructions and rallies the troops like a battle-hardened five star general. Thiago Silva might be the first player with the stature to fill John Terry’s boots. And that is the best compliment one could offer to a Chelsea center back.

Kevin: Kepa Arrizabalaga. With a new keeper potentially coming into the squad, Arrizabalaga really steps up. Once the pressure is on, the Spaniard knuckles down and Lampard has the luxury of having two decent keepers to choose from. Whoever scouted Arrizabalaga must have seen a good goalie in their somewhere. His first season was okay, the second was obviously less so but mark Arrizabalaga down to storm through season three.

Charlie: Hakim Ziyech will be Chelsea’s best player this season but it’s hard to argue that this would come as a surprise. So, past that watch out for Mason Mount who will benefit hugely from playing in a team with far more quality players around him. Lampard showed that he wants to play with N’Golo Kante playing behind two more attack minded midfielders in the center of the pitch and Mount has already excelled in this role. He’ll be alongside Kai Havertz this season, and he will rise to the challenge and excel for Lampard’s Blues.

Vishnu: N’Golo Kante. Chelsea has brought in some exciting players and all the spotlight is on them naturally. Many fans have forgotten what Kante is capable of. Some even want to make a profit off him. They only need to look at his performance the last time he was on the field, for France against Sweden. He was at his very best on the night with interceptions, tackles recoveries and what not. Injuries have certainly halted his last few months. But if he can stay safe, it will be massive for Frank Lampard and his team.

Barrett: Chelsea’s surprise player of the season is going to be Tammy Abraham. It seems that people have forgotten that Chelsea’s resident number nine had a great first season in the Premier League last year and that he and Werner play in different positions. With Werner coming in from the left and Abraham through the center the young Englishman is going to score 20 goals this season and show his worth as a focal point and team leader.

Oliver: Marco van Ginkel. Now this is not a name you would have thought would appear anywhere, but the Dutchman is still part of the Chelsea first team, and if you consult the Official Chelsea First Team Squad he is right there, with the new kit on no less, which is more than can be said for Tiemoue Bakayoko. A horrible string of injuries has deprived Chelsea fans of seeing van Ginkel replicate the form he did for PSV but he has been rehabbing at Cobham for an eternity and this will be his season to shine. An alternative to Jorginho/Ross Barkley, Van Ginkel will be a contender for the team’s Player of the Season (Lewis Baker came a close second in surprise of the season).

Yi Hao: Kepa Arrizabalaga. The Spaniard has honestly had a record-breaking season in terms of just how awful he was following a hugely promising start to the campaign against Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup. Yes, competition in the form of a new goalkeeper will probably arrive with the latest rumors linking Rennes’ Edouard Mendy to Chelsea. However, the Spaniard has already declared his desire to stay and fight for his place and at 25, still has time on his side to overcome the worst season he has ever had as a professional. As the old adage goes, the only way left is up. Hopefully, that applies to Kepa in the season to come.

Travis: Christian Pulisic. Chelsea’s new signings will help, but they will still play second fiddle to Pulisic’s rising star. The American improved by leaps and bounds under one year of Lampard and year two will see him explode into super stardom.