An overview of what Chelsea need to do in the transfer window.
Players they should sign:
Wayne Rooney – Sounds strange, doesn’t it? It’ll look stranger, but it may be a move beneficial for all involved. Rooney isn’t happy at United, and he’s made that clear, so it is time for a fresh start elsewhere. Jose Mourinho has stated that he would be interested in taking him to Stamford Bridge and the pair of them working together would be an interesting concept to say the least. However, there are fears that the England man would not be prolific enough to fire Chelsea toward the title. Last season he managed just 12 goals in the league whilst the club’s the Blues’ other key players notched around the same number – Lukaku (17 for WBA), Torres (eight), Lampard (15) and Hazard (nine) so there’s no doubt that Rooney would need to step his game up to produce another 20+ goals. But we all know that a happy and in form Wayne Rooney is a valuable commodity and perhaps Jose Mourinho can tap into an area of his psyche that Ferguson couldn’t reach. Reports of a £20 million bid being rejected by United have been circulating, over the coming weeks we will see how much Jose really wants him.
Hulk – Another player who is unhappy in his current surroundings. The Brazilian international hasn’t hit the kind of form that Zenit were hoping to see for their €40 million outlay and are now thought to be willing to cash in on him if anyone can come close to their original fee. Chelsea still have the kind of financial clout needed to land a player of this calibre and for their money they’ll be getting on of the most powerful, skilful forwards in the game with an ornate shooting ability. On his day Hulk is unplayable, but sadly he’s not seen too many of those in Russia thanks to some unsavoury chanting and the odd letter bomb left on the steps of the club’s training facility, so like Rooney, once he’s in a better environment he’ll be capable of producing the kind of football everybody knows he can. He can provide the kind of physical presence that is sorely missed since Didier Drogba’s exit and with Demba Ba and Fernando Torres still off the pace the club will want a striker capable of causing hell amongst opposition defences.
Daniele De Rossi – It’s always handy having a World Cup winner in the squad and De Rossi’s availability has come as a shock. The 29-year-old Italian international has been linked with a switch to Chelsea over the recent weeks and they have been tipped to make a big money big at some point in the near future. De Rossi finished the 2012-13 season with 29 appearances in all competitions but was often dropped and criticised by then coach Zdenek Zeman, causing him to reassess his options and consider a move away from the side where he has spent his entire career. Many thought he would follow in the footsteps of Francesco Totti and stay with the Roman side for his entire career – and he still might, but whereas Totti never really looked as though he would go there is a genuine concern that De Rossi will. Mourinho has been a noted fan of De Rossi since his time in Italy, first attempting to sign him during his reign at Inter Milan and then again with Real Madrid, but it seems an £11m deal could be enough to lure him to Stamford Bridge.
Bruma – The 18-year-old winger has caught the eye of some of Europe’s top clubs having broken into Sporting’s first team this season. Chelsea attempted to bring Bruma to West London last year but the Lisbon giants managed to tie him down with a new deal. However, Bruma’s lawyer, Bebiano Gomes, says his deal expired at the end of last month, but the club have insisted there was a clause that triggered an automatic renewal, prompting an awkward court case to hold up any move. Bayern are already believed to have made a £4 million bid to take Bruma to the Bundesliga, a £2 million rise on the bid Chelsea had previously tabled. Bruma’s older brother, Buomesca, is already on the books at Fulham so Chelsea could have the upper hand as the two could be reunited in the English capital. Armindo Tué Na Bangna, as his full name reads, has made eight appearances for the first team, scoring once, but he’s been heavily involved in the segunda team where he’s scored six times in 25 appearances. Furthermore, it’s time that Chelsea began to trust in youth and either buy some talented youngsters, or grow their own.
Areas of weakness:
No youth policy – It’s hard for a club to grown when you don’t have young players coming through the ranks who can continue to uphold the club’s ethos and philosophy. It suggests a lack of identity and detaches the fans slightly from the club, who like to know that one of their own is on the fringes of making it big in one of the most exciting leagues in the world. The majority of Chelsea’s young stars are shipped out on loan, where they either do very well and earn a permanent move, or slip off somewhere else into a relative obscurity. Last season the likes of Ryan Bertrand and Nathan Ake began to make a headway into the first team squad, though it’s taken the former a few loan spells of his own to get this far. Josh McEchran and Sam Hutchinson still have a bit of a wait on their hands, but hopefully Mourinho will be looking to build a dynasty the second time around and will know how best to utilise the facilities at his disposal.
No Stability – Since Mourinho first left back in 2007 the club have had an astonishing nine managers before he returned to take over once again. Avram Grant, Felipe Scolari, Ray Wilkins, Guus Hiddink, Carlo Ancelotti, Andre Villas-Boas, Roberto Di Matteo and Rafa Benitez have all fallen short of the expectations left by the special one, but nonetheless – Roman Abramovic’s ruthlessness when it comes to wielding the axe has been nothing short of callous and shortsighted. How can a club grow when it’s rooted in so much upheaval? How can a club form its identity and escape the ‘soulless’ tag that’s been thrust upon them? And RE the first point; how will your youth players ever prosper at the club if each new manager is intent on bringing in their own recruits. What is particularly baffling is that a number of these managers won trophies during their short spell in charge, suggesting that there are some invisible and impossible to reach parameters that these men have to reach, or Roman is just bored and needs someone to fire from time to time but isn’t blackhearted enough to pick on the tea lady.
Up front – This will most likely be fixed over the coming weeks as they’ve finally welcomed Romelu Lukaku back into the fold, with another striker thought to be on the way in too. However, last year saw the club fail to find a suitable replacement for the iconic Didier Drogba and instead, panicked, and bought Demba Ba from Newcastle, who has proved himself to not be up for the task of leading the line at a top club. The Fernando Torres question still persists – he did actually manage to bag 22 goals last season across 64 appearances in all competitions, but for his price tag, reputation, and stature within the game that return really was not good enough.
Strengths:
Defence – Starting in goal, they have the awesome prowess of Petr Cech, who, though not at the peak of his powers, is still one of the finest goalkeepers in the world, and in front of him are Ashley Cole, John Terry, David Luiz, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic – all solid and established internationals. They do have a tendency to get caught out every now and again, but most of the time they are adept at dealing with any number of situations that are thrown at them. There’s strength in depth there too – Ashley Cole is still going strong, but Ryan Bertrand is there ready to take over the baton when the England man finally decides to call it a day and on the other side Cesar Azpilicueta is able to slot in at right back should Ivanovic ever need to move into a central position.
Core – Barring a talisman up front, Chelsea have a good, solid core running through the side to keep the influx of new stars on the right track. John Terry and Ashley Cole patrol the back line tirelessly, whilst in the middle Frank Lampard is as good as he ever was – still managing to reach double figures in front of goal and keep the side’s style and work ethic ticking over. Lampard and Terry in particular are key to Chelsea’s attitude and relationship with the fans in the stands, but they are ageing and questions need to be asked over where their replacements will come from.
Management – Now that Mourinho has returned, the club finally has a manager that understands and loves everything about the club from the ground up. He brought success when there had been a lack of it, he brought charisma, and he brought good quotes. But more importantly, he brought a winning mentality that the club have tried to live up to ever since he left and now that he is back we may see the race for the Premier League broken wide open once again.
Who they should sell:
Fernando Torres – Even if they don’t manage to sell him outright, there will still be a club out there who would be willing to take him off Chelsea’s hands in sort sort of part exchange deal. For the money that was paid for him as not seen it’s return for the amount of goals he’s scored and the ridicule suffered by both club and player must now be getting tiresome. Chelsea will need to be in the market for a new striker this summer, and with some money in the bank for Torres, and with him off the wage bill, two suitable replacements will be easy to find.
Marko Marin – The German international should seek a move away for the sake of his own career. He had been tipped to take the Premier League by storm last season, often being held in the same bracket as the club’s newest recruit from the Bundesliga Andre Schurrle. Just 15 appearances across all competitions has not come close to fulfilling the £6.5 million fee they paid and his ascent to the top of his game has taken a serious hit.
John Obi Mikel – Although he only signed a new long term deal in December, he made just 38 appearances across all competitions over a long, long season. With more arrivals in the centre of midfield expected this summer his influence in and around the side could be relegated to featuring in domestic cup games. Not that he was ever signed for his goalscoring ability he has only managed to find the net twice during his spell in west London with the last one coming in 2007.
Demba Ba – Ba’s sale would mean that Chelsea would be left with just Torres and Lukaku leading the line, and considering Torres is already on this list then a dip into the transfer market may be required with greater vigour. His signing seemed to be on a whim of a need to fill a space, Mourinho won’t make that mistake as he’ll most likely have a number of names up his sleeve anyway.