A balanced assessment of Chelsea’s summer signings

Hakim Ziyech

Games Started: 12

Goals Scored: 2

Assists: 4

£38 million has looked like a bargain ever since the deal was announced in February last year and little has happened to change that thinking during the Moroccan’s initial appearances in a blue shirt.

Ziyech has delivered so far, cutting in from the right to supply balls into the box. With four assists to date, the only thing that could hinder him are injuries, having already had two spells on the sidelines. This has resulted in him already missing 12 matches in a tight fixture list and the medical staff will surely be monitoring him after previously missing sizable stints of his last campaign with Ajax.

A continuation of good form from Ziyech seems critical to the teams output. A good relationship has started to establish itself with Reece James down the right, but he is linking well with multiple players in the final third and his previously mentioned four assists, have assisted four individual players. Furthermore, his supply of pin-point balls into the box will be particularly important if we are to see an upturn in goals from the Germans.

Timo Werner

Games Started: 23

Goals Scored: 9

Assists: 6

Although for me, things are not quite as bad as they appear, Werner has—by his own admission—found it tough in his first season at Stamford Bridge. 15 goal involvements at the halfway point seems like a good return, but his goal drought has been well publicised. Outside of finishing a move involving both Ziyech and Havertz for Chelsea’s third goal in the 4-0 FA Cup victory over Morecambe, the German international has otherwise been goalless since scoring in a 4-1 victory at home to Sheffield on 7th November.

With Werner some way off producing the numbers he achieved last season at RB Leipzig, there is little doubt his confidence is low and he has often looked disjointed when taking a shot. But in a game of fine margins, his poor performances have quite often been a whisker away from ending with a goal. Werner is joint-first in the Premier league for hitting the woodwork, having achieved that feat five times so far this season. His pace and movement have been consistent throughout the season and he has frequently done the hard work to get into good positions for shooting. We can see this in his Premier League xG (expected goals) of 7.16, indicating he has carved out chances for himself that constitute three more goals than the four he has scored so far this season.

Hard work and repetition on the training ground will be the be the best remedy to turn Werner’s form around, but after the missed penalty against Luton and a goal chalked off away at Leicester for a fraction of his upper arm being offside, the young striker deserves a slice of good fortune too.

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