UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUECHELSEA
Heavy investment increases expectation
At Stamford Bridge they clearly mean
business. No other club in Europe spent
more on new faces this summer, with
the Blues’ high command splashing out
acool£200milliononsuchyoungguns
as Germany striker Timo Werner (former
RB Leipzig), his compatriot, attacking
midfielder Kai Havertz (Leverkusen),
Leicester City and England left-back Ben
Chilwell and Moroccan winger or centrallink-man Hakim Ziyech. If ever there was
a statement of intent, this was it.
Nor was it the end of the recruitment
drive. Also requiring a new dressing room
locker were Senegalese keeper Edouard
Mendy – who cost £22 million from
Rennes – and a pair of Bosman free
transfer centre-backs: PSG’s stylish
Brazilian Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr, a
talented France Under-21 international
who was subsequently sent on loan to
Porto. The signing of Mendy was bad
news indeed for erstwhile keeper Kepa
Arrizabalaga, whose penchant for crass
errors has cost him dear.
Much will depend, of course, on
how well the new arrivals settle in and
integrate. A team’s chemistry is a delicate
affair and you mess with it at your peril.
Last season, Frank Lampard’s first as
manager at the Bridge, the side’s most
significant assets were their unity and
resilience. A substantial upgrade in
quality is all well and good, but it can
be a double-edged sword. Lampard
has a delicate balancing act to perform.
He has to find the right blend of new
faces and old hands. The process will
not be straightforward.Will Lampard finally hit upon the
formula for defensive stability?
At the moment, it seems a tall order.
They leak way too many goals and it’s
not difficult to see why. In a little more
than a season in charge, Lampard has
tried numerous defensive combinations,
so much so that a different blueprint
appears almost every other week.
A start would be a more disciplined
approach to defending set-pieces.Can N’Golo Kante rediscover his
midfield dominance of old?
First of all, the France dynamo needs
to stay out of the treatment room. Last
term, he suffered four different injuries
and missed some15 games. Secondly,
he has to play in his best position -
stationed deep and centrally, but with
license to roam across the midfield.
Squashing him into a more advanced
role or limiting him to an anchorman
takes away much of his effectiveness.Where now for Mason Mount
and Tammy Abraham?
The young England pair, the homegrown
poster boys of Chelsea last season, may
be in for a tough time this term, possibly
squeezed out of the first-team reckoning
by the high-profile newcomers such as
Havertz, Ziyech and Werner. Will Mount
and Abraham have sufficient rotation
opportunities to keep them happy?
That’s the conundrum for Lampard.
High expectations...Can Havertz live up to his monster price tag?
COACH
Frank Lampard
In just two years as a
manager, Lampard
has shown he has
whatittakes,steering
Derby County to the
Championship play-
off final and Chelsea
to a Premier League
top-four finish last
season. A prominent
figure in the Chelsea
side which won the
Champions League
in 2011-12.
KEYMAN
Timo Werner
Man in motion
German striker or
left-winger. Signed
from RB Leipzig in a
£54 million deal, he
hit34goalsforinall
comps last season.
YOUNGSTER
TO WATCH
Kai Havertz
Rated by many
as the best player of
his generation, the
ex-Leverkusen tyro,
21, cost Chelsea a
club record fee of
£72 million this
summer.