Five issues for Jose to address this summer
Jose Mourinho was officially named as Chelsea’s new manager today which has given the club a major boost ahead of next season and it will be interesting to see what happens over the summer, but what issues does he need to address?
Buy a reliable forward:
It’s often been said that a new striker will be the priority at Stamford Bridge this summer as far as incoming transfers are concerned. Yes, Fernando Torres had an okay season with his 22-goal return but only eight of those were in the Premier League (our priority) in 36 appearances which isn’t good enough, especially when you’re on £170,000-a-week. Edinson Cavani is reportedly on the shortlist and Arsenal target Stefan Jovetic has been linked with us more recently.
Recruit a midfield leader:
We’re also in need of a central midfielder and a commanding one that’s capable of leading, we’ve lacked this since Michael Ballack left the club in my opinion and it’s an area Mourinho is reportedly keen to look at. Daniele De Rossi has been earmarked as an option but it’s up to him as he may not even want to leave the club he’s been at for his entire professional career and one of our former players Nemanja Matic has been mooted also. As long as it isn’t someone limited like Sami Khedira or Marouane Fellaini I’ll be happy.
Find the next Terry & fix an unbalanced defence:
As much as everyone talks about filling the odd place in midfield an up front, it’s the defence that is in most need of an overhaul. Aside from Cesar Azpilicueta at right-back there was a real lack of consistency and form from whoever was filling the other three spots. David Luiz was probably our most improved player of the last season but if his future is in defence then he must be paired with someone better than a Branislav Ivanovic or Gary Cahill, whilst John Terry’s injury problems appear to be catching up with him and he may not be able to feature as often as he’d like.
Ashley Cole’s lasting tag as the world’s best left-back is probably what saved him from a heap of criticism this season and he’ll have to get his act together under Mourinho or he’ll be replaced.
Make use of our on-loan talent:
Chelsea have a host of young talent out on loan at the moment and Mourinho will have to sit down with Michael Emenalo to decide who will be used, loaned out again and which player will be moved on permanently.
For players like Thibaut Courtois it makes sense for him to stay in the stable environment he’s in and Nathaniel Chalobah, Wallace and Lucas Piazon will likely go back out on loan but then there are the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Patrick van Aanholt, Tomas Kalas and Kenneth Omeruo, who are all good enough to be a part of the first-team squad already.
Decide who’s for sale:
There will be a number of players within the squad that have question marks over their respective futures and both Jose and the club will have to make sure they’re making the right decisions when it comes to sales.
It’s doubtful that he will want to receive daggers from Torres when he benches the Spaniard once his replacement has been purchased so it would probably be a good idea to move him on, even if we will have to pay him off or subsidise his salary at another club. He will want regular football in a World Cup year and we have suitable backup in Demba Ba and Lukaku.
David Luiz has been linked with the exit but shouldn’t be allowed to go for less than £35m (I’m confident we’ll find a better defender with that sort of cash) and if a big offer comes in for Branislav Ivanovic, who is essentially a third choice centre-back and second choice right-back, it will be hard for the club to resist.
Fringe players like Marko Marin and Oriol Romeu may also be looking over their shoulders. We know players will be coming in so departures have to be expected.
In conclusion, I think we’re three or four wise signings from becoming serious title contenders and trust Mourinho when it comes to deciding which players to move on. The one concern I do have is that I hope we make the best of our young talent as we have been developing them in recent years, but have yet to take them on the next step and this is something we’ll have to work on.
All in all, I’m optimistic about next season. Let us know what your thoughts are in the comments section below…