There are still roughly three weeks left in the transfer window and the season has started proper. Chelsea has already completed the signings of left winger Raheem Sterling, centerback Kalidou Koulibaly and left wingback Marc Cucurella. Is this enough? A look at the squad in the wake of the Everton game on matchday 1 suggests it is not. For reasons such as preparing for injuries, bringing in competitions to keep the current starters on their toes and a sheer need for an upgrade, the Blues still need to dip into the transfer market to strengthen some key positions.
Here are three positions that Chelsea still needs to address in the transfer market:
Centerback
Chelsea’s personnel at central defense is perfectly capable of servicing it for the duration of the current season. However, it is impossible to ignore the elephant in the room: the three centerbacks that started the Everton game had a combined age of 100. Thiago Silva alone is 37 years old and will the 38 by this time next month. Silva has shown that he knows how to handle himself, despite his age, but even Tuchel had to manage Silva’s minutes last season because of this same thing: age. Silva often came back from international breaks and had to sit out the next game as he was not yet match fit.
Last season, the Blues had an established senior player and Denmark international in Andreas Christensen to pick up the minutes Silva couldn’t get. They no longer have that luxury of proper depth. Yes, they have bought a centerback in this window, but it is still not enough as they lost two very important centerbacks last season—though they were important for different reasons.
Chelsea could very well find itself in a situation where one or more of Silva, Cesar Azpilicueta or Kalidou Koulibaly are injured as with age comes more fitness issues. The Blues have to turn to other options in these instances. As things stand, those options are Ethan Ampadu, Trevoh Chalobah and Malang Sarr. Of those three, Sarr has all but completed a move to AS Monaco and Ampadu is heavily linked with a move away. That leaves just Chalobah that Tuchel is sure he’ll have when the window closes. Add to this the fact that Chelsea needs to get centerbacks in to one day replace Silva when he inevitably leaves or just cannot manage his age anymore. From every angle, the Blues need at least one more established centerback on their roster.