What’s changed in 12 weeks?
The headline news is the return of Romelu Lukaku for an eye-watering £97.5million. Chelsea’s wastefulness in front of goal was one of their major issues last season and Lukaku should represent a simple solution to that problem. In terms of outgoings, Chelsea are far from alone in struggling to shift their fringe players. It has been striking to see the likes of Baba Rahman, Danny Drinkwater and Tiemoue
Bakayoko feature in preseason. Expect a flurry of late transfers or loans towards the end of the transfer window.
Who has it all to prove?
Callum Hudson-odoi (right). The winger faces an uncertain future at Chelsea and he must convince Thomas Tuchel that he can make a real impact. It was not so long ago that Hudson-odoi was seen as one of the continent’s most exciting young players, prompting interest from Bayern Munich before he was given a new Chelsea contract worth £120,000 a week. Time is still on his side (he is only 20), but can he show he is ready to play regularly for a team of Chelsea’s
quality?
Most exciting prospect
Tino Anjorin. With Billy Gilmour spending the season on loan at Norwich City, 19-yearold midfielder Anjorin may get first-team opportunities.
The England youth international has physical strength beyond his years.
Success would be… Winning the Premier League. Tuchel made it clear last season that he wants to challenge for the title this time around and after winning the Champions League, he will be expected to at least go close. With their strength in depth and quality in attack, Chelsea are regarded by many as the team most likely to dethrone Manchester City.
Failure would be...
Missing out on Champions League qualification, which is the bare minimum for any Chelsea manager. The club will also hope that Tuchel can follow up his incredible first six months with another trophy.
Managerial axe rating 2/5.
At any other club, Tuchel’s position would be entirely safe. But this is Chelsea, and recent history shows it does not take much of a dip in form before the club act decisively.
Player of the season will be…
Kai Havertz had a patchy first season in English football, in difficult circumstances, but his late-season form suggested he was about to explode.
He also performed well for Germany in the European Championship and has looked sharp in pre-season.
Major ins Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan, £97.5m), Marcus Bettinelli (free).
Major outs Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan, £25m), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace, £20m), Victor Moses (Spartak Moscow, £4.5m), Olivier Giroud (AC Milan, £1m).