Opinion: How Graham Potter’s Chelsea’s team could look in 2023/24 – Part One
Todd Boehly has spent over £600million on the Chelsea squad since arriving as owner and here are a couple of ways the Blues could potentially line up next season.With over 30 players currently under contract at Chelsea, two squads will be looked at over the next couple of days, a four at-the-back team and three […]
The post Opinion: How Graham Potter’s Chelsea’s team could look in 2023/24 – Part One appeared first on CaughtOffside.
Todd Boehly has spent over £600million on the Chelsea squad since arriving as owner and here are a couple of ways the Blues could potentially line up next season.
With over 30 players currently under contract at Chelsea, two squads will be looked at over the next couple of days, a four at-the-back team and three at-the-back team, because nobody knows just how the Blues will set up going into next season.
From players who are guaranteed to be at the club next year to those who have been heavily linked with the club, here is Part One of the possible Chelsea rebuild.
Starting with the attack, we know that Christopher Nkunku will be a Chelsea player next season, with Fabrizio Romano confirming that he is set to walk through the Cobham doors on July 1st. Could he be the man to take Chelsea’s forward line to the next level? With 17 goals and five assists to his name for RB Leipzig this year, the Stamford Bridge faithful will certainly hope so.
Chelsea fans will hope that mega-money man Mykhailo Mudryk settles at a Blue next year with a full preseason under his belt, while they also anticipate that rumours of a permanent deal for Joao Felix this summer develop into something more concrete, with the Portuguese impressing since his January arrival.
Enzo Fernandez. Need we say less? He’s slotted in seamlessly to Graham Potter’s system since his January deadline day arrival and there’s belief from every part of Chelsea that he will succeed at the club.
The next two midfielders are not wearing blue just yet but it’s entirely possible they will be come the summer.
Kouadio ‘Manu’ Kone is a name that’s been on the tip of every journalist’s tongue for the past couple of months, with so many European clubs interested in his signature, Chelsea being one of them and their interest is said to be intense.
Romano says that Borussia Monchengladbach won’t be entertaining offers lower than £44million, a fee certainly within Chelsea’s budget, so watch this space.
The second is Declan Rice. Chelsea are desperate for a defensive midfielder and they’ve had no shortage of links to the West Ham man.
A Chelsea academy boy and best friends with Mason Mount, Rice looked set to join the Blues a few years ago, but with the Hammers’ resistance to a sale and the emergence of links to Arsenal and Manchester United in recent months, along with the fact Chelsea look set to miss out on Champions League football for next season, they may face an extremely tough battle to convince the 24-year old to move to Stamford Bridge. Let’s see what happens there.
The back four and goalkeeper are all current Chelsea players, so there’s no need to panic over any transfers or potential sales. Manchester City have been linked with Ben Chilwell in the past months according to the Athletic, but it looks like Chilwell will remain in London, with his contract expiring in 2025.
Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile and Reece James all have contracts signed until 2029, 2030 and 2028 respectively so it would take some major turn of events or serious offers for them to depart Stamford Bridge anytime soon and their respective individual performances this season are enough evidence to suggest that they will be mainstays in Chelsea’s defence for years to come.
Kepa is an interesting one. He’s had his moments of brilliance this season but has also had moments where you think “what is he doing?”
Unlike the major links to outfield player transfers, the goalkeeper situation is rumbling much more quietly in the background, but the likes of David Raya, Gregor Kobel and Robert Sanchez have been touted as possible replacements for the Spaniard, whose Blues contract runs out in 2025.
So many stories and so many potential avenues for Chelsea to go down in the summer, and a Part Two of a potential new-look Chelsea will be out later this weekend, so keep your eyes peeled.
The post Opinion: How Graham Potter’s Chelsea’s team could look in 2023/24 – Part One appeared first on CaughtOffside.