Chelsea: Three reasons why the transfer ban can turn out to be a blessing for the Blues

The revamped Chelsea squad has seen players like Christian Pulisic and Tammy Abraham come in.
The revamped Chelsea squad has seen players like Christian Pulisic and Tammy Abraham come in.

It has been a tough start to life at Stamford Bridge for Frank Lampard. Chelsea Football Club sit eleventh on the Premier League table with 5 points from 4 games, which is one of the worst starts that the Londoners have made in the modern era.

To recap things a little, Chelsea had an interesting and unfortunate turn of events at the end of the last season following their Europa League triumph in Baku.

In a space of two weeks, the manager left the club to return to his homeland in Italy, the most important and best squad player, Eden Hazard, left to realize his dreams of playing for Real Madrid and the club was hit with a transfer ban, the duration of which is still being fought by the team.

But as is stands, the show must go on. Club legend Frank Lampard, who impressed with his managerial stint at Derby County last season, was brought in as the new manager, and an army of loanees were recalled to fill the spaces that were left by outgoing players.

Despite the Blues taking every possible measure to create something positive out of this end of last season debacle, the results have been far from expected.

There have still been some positives from the past few weeks. The biggest positive? The fans standing in total support of the new manager and the young squad. Other positives include debuts of academy players with few of them scoring a handful of goals for the club and a new attractive style of play.

If dealt properly, the transfer ban can really turn out to be a positive start to a new era in the history of Chelsea. Today we take a look at the top three reasons why the restrictions on transfers imposed on the Blues is actually a blessing in disguise.


#3 Opportunity for talented youth and academy players

A few of Chelsea's youngsters who are ready for first team action.
A few of Chelsea's youngsters who are ready for first team action.

Chelsea are probably the only club in England who have always been prepared for a transfer ban, thanks to an army of on loan players who are winning player-of-the-season awards in Championship and academy players who are more than ready to enter the first team.

Lampard has already given debuts to homegrown players like Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori in the Premier League, as he awaits the recovery of another academy starlet Reece James, who was a force at Wigan Athletic last season.

There is no perfect time for these youngsters to capitalize on their chances and hold on to their first-team roles with consistent performances as the hands of the Chelsea Board are tied with the transfer ban.

Talents like Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who are recovering from injuries, are also up for selection later this season. Both of them had squad rotation roles till last season with stars like Hazard and Cesc Fabregas in the squad. But with the departure of these players, space for these Chelsea academy graduates has opened up.

It is definitely an exciting time for Chelsea fans as they will be seeing a lot of Academy players cement their positions in the first team from this season onwards.

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#2 No pressure and time to settle for the new manager

Club legend Frank Lampard has been appointed new head coach.
Club legend Frank Lampard has been appointed new head coach.

Chelsea has been the most strict club in the whole of Europe and probably the whole world when it comes to relieving managers from their duties due to lack of results.

Well, now the Board have their own player legend Frank Lampard handling the first team duties at Stamford Bridge, which means that the management can be little more patient than usual.

Another big reason why Lampard should be kept away from pressure and should be given time to settle is the fact that he starts his journey amidst a transfer ban which is actually a very daring move by the Englishman.

It will be financially and logically right to give Lampard his own space to experiment with all the squad he has at his disposal, and to find a perfect eleven to sixteen players who can be counted upon not only for just this season, but for years to come.

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#1 Nothing to lose attitude resulting in an attractive style of football

Chelsea have the needed firepower to play attacking football.
Chelsea have the needed firepower to play attacking football.

The squad and the staff closely related to the squad have a very clear idea that this season the expectations will be minimum, considering the transfer ban and the new manager, and this might be a very big psychological factor.

This can enable the players to play a free-form attacking brand of football where there is no pressure on them, resulting in each individual playing as their best version of themselves on field.

Also, the first-team selections of Lampard in these first 4 weeks have made it clear that he doesn't shy away from rebuffing his squad every week to give chances to upcoming talents and try new strategies.

If Chelsea are able to achieve a top four spot this season, and can reach the knockout stages of the Champions League, with this kind of a situation, it will be a big win for Lampard and his young guns. Next season when probably the transfer ban will be lifted, there can be some strengthening of the squad to improve the depth.

Chelsea visit Molineux on Saturday to play a Wolves side who have been fairly impressive in the first few weeks, as the Premier League returns after the international break.

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Edited by S Chowdhury