Dissecting Chelsea's squad: A guide to the Blues' winter transfer window

In the summer of 2018, there was a cloud of uncertainty that was cast upon Chelsea. After a fall-out with the board and a few key members in the squad, Antonio Conte was shown the exit door at Stamford Bridge after a relatively successful spell in England, having won the Premier League in 2016/17 and the 2017/18 FA Cup. There was no confirmation until much later in the transfer window regarding their new head coach or any major signings.

Maurizio Sarri was then unveiled as the new manager, almost immediately followed by the signing of Jorginho Frello, the loan signing of Mateo Kovacic and the world-record transfer of Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Considering the season that the Italian had with Chelsea, finishing 3rd in the table and winning the UEFA Europa League, he wasn't a manager who was expected to lose his job at the end of the season. Whether he was sacked by Chelsea or he chose to leave for Turin is a debate for another day. The matter at hand in the 2019 summer was that of Sarri's successor, and Chelsea looked no further than club legend Frank Lampard for the role.

Now, the Englishman has had a superb season with the London club so far. Currently sitting 4th on the Premier League table with 36 points and with a Champions League tie against Bayern Munich set to be played in the Round of 16, it's safe to say that Lampard has exceeded expectations. This is also due to the circumstances the club were in, i.e. the transfer ban imposed on them as well as the departure of star Belgian Eden Hazard.

Although Christian Pulisic and Mateo Kovacic's arrivals were helpful to the club's ambitions, it is clear that Chelsea are due a lavish summer of spending in the transfer market. Most of their expenditure over the last few years has been funded by the Blues' excellent negotiating and extorting of large sums of money for their players.

Considering all the uncertainty that they have faced over the last two to three seasons, things appear to be falling into place at Stamford Bridge, especially with their progress this year as well as the upliftment of their transfer ban.

That being said, here, we take a detailed look at their squad and analyse their strengths, weaknesses and try to predict the nature of their activity in the January and summer transfer windows.

Goalkeepers

Players: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Willy Caballero

Courtois made it pretty clear to the Blues that he wanted out to fulfil his life-long dream of playing for Real Madrid. His departure was a matter of when and not if, and after it finally transpired, Chelsea were forced to dip into the market.

The Blues chose to activate the release clause of promising goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to replace Courtois and the Spaniard, after a series of memorable moments and saves, looks set for a long-term stay at Stamford Bridge. This is, of course, understandable considering their £72m investment in the former Athletic Bilbao man and the whopping 7-year contract that they tied him down to.

There were rumours regarding a potential replacement being lined up after a string of poor performances from the Spaniard, although nothing ever seemingly materialised. His infamous stand-off with Maurizio Sarri while refusing to come off the pitch after being subbed off will be remembered for years to come. The man who was set to replace him, Willy Caballero has been a steady back-up for the Spanish goalkeeper and has a season or two left in the tank to continue serving Chelsea.

Chelsea are unlikely to do any business this winter or come summer for this area of the pitch. Arrizabalaga is set to wear the Londoners' shirt for years to come.

Defence

Players: Marcos Alonso, Emerson Palmieri, Kurt Zouma, Fikayo Tomori, Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Cezar Azpilicueta, Reece James

Chelsea's defence has been a major talking point of their season so far. The Blues have had terrible luck with injuries through the season and especially those pertaining to their most experienced centre-half Rudiger. The 26-year-old has been in and out of the side due to niggling injuries through the season and the likes of Zouma, Tomori and Christensen have failed to guard Arrizzabalaga's goal effectively.

The Blues have conceded a staggering 29 times in 21 matches, just one goal less than the most conceded by any club in the top half of the table with both Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal having let in 30 goals. At home, their record worsens, having lost 4 games and drawn 2 out of a total of 10 fixtures, conceding 10 times.

The left-back spot has been up for grabs for some time now as both Alonso and Emerson have, so far, failed to cement their status as starters. With a combined total of 1 goal and 2 assists between them in 20 games, all of them being from Alonso, their left-backs' attacking output is nearly negligible. They have both been guilty of poor defensive performances, with neither being able to provide Lampard's side with the desired stability in defence and consistency in offensive areas of the game.

It is no surprise that they've been linked to left-backs in the market for so long, with Alonso's future also in doubt considering that Chelsea could easily cash in on the Spaniard and opt to upgrade on their existing options. Perhaps a defender that is more suited to Frank Lampard's and modern football's demands such as Ben Chilwell could massively help the Blues in this department or even a more established campaigner such as Alex Telles of FC Porto. They could provide better output in the final third and are more evidently proactive in the defensive third.

Right-back is a position that Chelsea don't need to fret over due to the presence of a promising Englishman in Reece James, who is touted to challenge captain Azpilicueta as the Spaniard begins to see his powers wane. James is a part of England's new generation of exciting talents and he most certainly has the quality to provide from the right what Alonso and Emerson have so far failed to do from the left.

Centre-back is, unfortunately, an area of massive concern for the London club. Their current options Zouma, Christensen, Tomori and Rudiger have failed to provide them with a stable backline. From the time of the legendary coupling of John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, Chelsea have always had at least a couple of reliable defenders to form a solid spine. As a consequence of this, their links to Kalidou Koulibaly make all the more sense, as a figure such as the Senegalese is exactly what the Blues could do with - that of a leader.

Nathan Ake is another potential option due to the buy-back clause demanded by Chelsea in the Dutchman's contract as he was set to join AFC Bournemouth. The Napoli man, though, would ideally be the man to lead this inexperienced Chelsea defence due to several things, most important being his ball-playing ability and leadership skills.

Koulibaly has established himself as one of the most sought-after defenders in the world due to his elite performances over the last few years. He is quite comfortably the best available centre-half in the world, with the likes of Sergio Ramos, Virgil van Dijk, and other defensive stalwarts being nearly impossible to prise away.

Should Chelsea capture the defensive rock who plying his trade in Naples, Stamford Bridge would finally see a dependable defender help solidify their porous rearguard. Expect to see Chelsea move for a centre-half this winter.

Midfield

Players: N'Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, Ross Barkley, Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Since his big-money move from Napoli, the jury's still out on whether Jorginho has settled in well into life at Stamford Bridge. Granted that he's grown leaps and bounds in stature at the club, but his on-field displays have blown hot and cold with the Italian leaves a lot to be desired in areas that aren't his forte, but unfortunately, are essential. This season, though, he's been crucial for the Blues to attain control in the middle of the park.

N'Golo Kante needs little introduction as he is the general who provides the level of energy and legs their midfield needs. Over the last few years, the Frenchman has developed other aspects of his game and now has an eye for a pass as well as a goal, having scored a few key goals against clubs such as Manchester United and Liverpool. The World Cup-winner is someone to build a midfield and a team around, and is comfortably one of the best footballers in the world in his position.

The coming of age of Mateo Kovacic has provided the club with some much-needed control in midfield, with the Croatian finally living up to the hype that was created around him during his Inter Milan days. Chelsea and more particularly Frank Lampard's tweaks in terms of his positioning and helping him improve his decision making has significantly escalated his status at the club as one of the first names on the team sheet.

Ross Barkley is another name that has failed to cement a spot in the team after an impressive initial spell, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek's injuries have hampered what could have potentially been a great consistent addition to the Chelsea midfield. Mason Mount's rise has provided the club with a different attacking prospect. The Englishman's blend of pressing energy and knack of drifting in between the lines has helped fill the void of a creative presence in the side. That being said, what this midfield does lack, of course, is goals and direct attacking output.

Mount doesn't create chances in bulk and is more focused on making late runs into the box, à la Frank Lampard. They could really do with a creative force, such as Real Madrid outcast Isco Alarcon or Tottenham Hotspur contract rebel Christian Eriksen. A player with a certain level of expertise in the area could provide Chelsea with the extra bit of assured quality in the final ball.

Apart from that one apparent void, there isn't much else to discuss regarding the Blues's midfield ahead of the winter window. Chelsea aren't likely to look for midfield reinforcements this winter.

Attack

Players: Callum Hudson-Odoi, Pedro, Willian Borges, Christian Pulisic, Tammy Abraham, Michy Batshuayi

How is it possible to replace a player like Eden Hazard?

Their former Belgian star was the driving force behind Chelsea's numerous title pushes over the years and provided the Stamford Bridge faithful with goals, assists, chances, exhilarating dribbles and countless moments of magic. When Christian Pulisic was finally the man they turned to in the hope of replacing the outgoing Hazard, there was obviously a sense of hope, but it would have been wishful thinking for the American to fully replace the Belgian skipper.

Pulisic's voes settling into the side apart, Chelsea have a number of talking points surrounding Chelsea's attack. Tammy Abraham has been one of the standout performers in the league let alone at the club and is currently enjoying his most successful top-flight campaign to date.

Playing for his boyhood club, the Englishman has scored 12 goals and set up a further 3 assists this season in the league and has led the side's charge for a top 4 finish. His deputy Michy Batshuayi, as a consequence of Abraham's excellent form, is yet to be awarded a start, having played just 119 minutes over 12 games off the bench. He managed a goal and an assist in that period.

With Olivier Giroud reportedly set to leave and a number of crunch matches coming up in the second half of the season, Chelsea's search for attacking reinforcements is well underway. Frank Lampard has reportedly kept tabs on the likes of Moussa Dembele of Olympique Lyon, Victor Osimhen of Lille, Timo Werner of RB Leipzig and a host of other talented strikers for a considerable while as he searches for an ideal striker to partner Abraham.

Pulisic has found it hard to find regular football so far under Lampard, while both Willian and Pedro are on the wrong side of 30. The Brazilian has recently confirmed the ongoing talks regarding a new contract at Stamford Bridge, but the Spaniard is reportedly set to leave the club. Despite Lampard and the club hierarchy seemingly ready to show faith in the prodigious Callum Hudson-Odoi, Chelsea would very well be looking the possible arrival of a quality wide player, such as Jadon Sancho of Borussia Dortmund.

The English winger has been a subject of interest for Chelsea since a while now, with both the Blues and Liverpool having reportedly watched Sancho before he eventually moved to Germany.

Now, after Sancho has solidified himself as one of the most sought-after properties on the continent, Lampard & co. have been heavily linked with a possible move to help fill Hazard's boots. Any move would involve fees of over £100m, and Roman Abramovic would also have to do battle with Manchester United for his services. Sancho's creative ability would do wonders for the current Chelsea attack considering their lack of consistent chance creators in midfield.

Wilfried Zaha is another name that has been thrown into the fray with Chelsea's interest in the Ivorian going hand in hand with Crystal Palace's alleged interest in Giroud. Should a move for the former United man materialise, Chelsea would be getting one of the best 1v1 dribblers in the league and could possibly give their attack a cutting edge. He regularly finished only behind Hazard in terms of take-ons completed for a good couple of seasons prior to the Belgian's departure.

A consistent striker who could rotate, compete or pair up with Tammy Abraham, along with an expert wide player are seemingly at the very top of Chelsea's transfer wish list in this area of the pitch. Expect them to recruit reinforcements in this area of the pitch this winter.