It’s no secret that Chelsea could be in for a tough old season next campaign as they look to once again finish in the Premier League top four. However, there are two reasons why the club could be looking over their own shoulders rather than at a potential top-four place next season.
The first of the two reasons is the biggest problem the club faces and is exactly why we, as fans, should be frightened for next season.
Leicester City have, over the last six days, completed the signings of Ayoze Perez and Youri Tielemans from Newcastle United and Leicester City respectively. Both players enjoyed sensational form in the second half of the Premier League season. Perez finished Newcastle’s top scorer in all competitions with 13 goals. And Tielemans was just as brilliant after joining Leicester City on loan from Monaco, finishing with eight goal contributions in just 13 Premier League games. And with the enigmatic Jamie Vardy up front, who finished on 18 Premier League goals last season, Leicester are building a very good attack.
On the other hand, Chelsea barely completed the signing of Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who ended last season with just two assists, and not a single goal with Chelsea. And add to that a squad which is almost exactly the same as last season, and we should be quite frightful of finishing outside the top six. There couldn’t be a bigger difference between ourselves and Leicester City, who are looking to go into the new season with some real momentum after some astute signings.
The second reason isn’t as worrying as the one we face from Leicester, however, could become a problem in the future. Chelsea are currently under a transfer ban from FIFA, and with the clubs both below and above us being able to make signings, our squad could be a year behind come next summer.
On the face of it, next season looks to be a real struggle for us fans. We face challenges from teams above and below us, and with a transfer ban currently in place, our chances look to be slim. However, after winning the league quite surprisingly under Antonio Conte, this squad of players have shown that they can rise up and take on a challenge head on.
