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#4 Ben Chilwell
Ben Chilwell had a brilliant start to his Chelsea career upon arrival from Leicester City for £45 million. With Marcos Alonso falling out of favor with Frank Lampard, Chilwell was a regular starter and was one of Chelsea's best players in the first-half of the 2020-21 campaign. The left-back had raced to two goals and five assists in just 22 appearances under the manager.
However, the arrival of Thomas Tuchel in January saw the Englishman reduced to a rotational role.
With the German manager switching to a back-three with wing backs, Alonso came back into the fold and became a regular starter under Tuchel. However, Chilwell did manage to earn his spot back in the latter stages of the season, even starting in the Champions League final for the Blues.
But the 24-year-old has had a difficult start to the 2021-22 campaign. After not making a single appearance for England at Euro 2020, Chilwell saw his starting place in the side taken again by Alonso. Chilwell had returned late to Chelsea due to his participation at the Euros and therefore Alonso grabbed the opportunity and performed well for the Blues.
As such, Chilwell has made just four appearances this season with only two of them coming as starts. He did however score against Southampton just before the international break and even scored his first England goal against Andorra last week.
So far, Chilwell's Chelsea career has been full of ups and downs. He has however shown that he is getting back to his best, which can only mean positive news for Chelsea considering they have two in-form left-backs in the squad.
#3 Timo Werner
Timo Werner was arguably the most exciting signing made by Chelsea last summer with the German having ripped up the Bundesliga for RB Leipzig in 2019-20. He scored 34 goals and assisted 12 in all competitions and his electric pace and instinctive finishing convinced Chelsea to shell out nearly £50 million for his services.
However, things have not gone according to plan for the forward. He has looked uncertain in possession, uneasy against a low block and has been unable to replicate his form at Leipzig. Werner missed several gilt-edged chances last season, adding to his further misery.
But while the forward has been woeful in front of goal, his overall performances have been impressive. His 12 goals and 10 assists across competitions, the most for any Chelsea player last season, were crucial in the Blues finishing in the top four and winning the Champions League.
With the arrival of Romelu Lukaku this summer, Werner has seen his game time being limited. However, the former seems to be getting back to his best having registered four goals and an assist in his last six games for club and country.
#2 Thiago Silva
Thiago Silva was one of the signings of the 2020-21 season after arriving on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain. To sign a player with such quality on a free transfer was exceptionally shrewd business by Chelsea. Despite being 35 years old at the time of his arrival, Silva adapted brilliantly to the intensity of the Premier League.
Chelsea's leaky defense improved massively thanks to the influence of the monumentally experienced Brazilian. Only Manchester City conceded fewer Premier League goals than Chelsea last season. Even though Silva wasn't present for every game, his impact in the dressing room and the training ground cannot be underestimated.
Now 37, many people expected Silva to be sparingly used this season. However, the centre-back already has seven appearances to his name and has produced exceptional performances away at Liverpool and Tottenham.
His contract expires this season but if Silva continues to maintain this level of performance, there's no reason not to keep him at Chelsea for another year.
#1 Edouard Mendy
Signing goalkeepers from Rennes has become a good omen for Chelsea in recent times. First came Petr Cech and now Edouard Mendy.
The Senegalese was brought in to help shore up Chelsea's defense after Kepa Arrizabalaga's worrying form at the start of last season. And the keeper has done exactly that.
Standing at 6'6", Mendy has been a giant in goal for the Blues. He used every inch of that frame to help Chelsea to the second-best defensive record in the league last season.
Mendy was not a high profile signing like Havertz, Werner or Ziyech. But he has been better than all three of them and has quietly gone about his business between the sticks for the Blues.
Incredibly, Mendy has kept 34 clean sheets in 53 matches for the Blues so far, and has conceded only 29 goals in the process. His performances in the Champions League last season earned him the UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year award.
From shot-stopping and immense calmness on the ball, Mendy has everything a modern day goalkeeper needs and has been an excellent addition for the Blues.
