Chelsea look strong heading into Premier League 2023-24 after strong pre-season

The Blues finished 12th in the league last season

Chelsea’s first season under its new ownership in Todd Boehly started with the London club going on an extravagant spending spree of more than £600 million. During last season’s January transfer window, Chelsea went on what seemed like an unstoppable shopping spree.

However, buying players left and right did not seem to have any effects on their performance on the field. Chelsea had a disastrous campaign in 22-23, they finished 12th in the Premier League, their first finish in the bottom half of the league table since 1995-96, were nowhere near consequential in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup, and moreover, will not be seen anywhere in European competitions in the coming season.

Chelsea spent last season under four different managers, most in their history in a single season. At the end of the season, The Blues appointed former Tottenham and Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino.

Pochettino’s first order of business was to trim a bloated Chelea squad, the London club offloaded many prized assets to have a squad suited to their needs, moreover, their extravagant spending also needed them to be mindful of FFP regulations.

Players leaving Chelsea

Chelsea’s outgoing players include Cesar Azpilicueta, who left for Atletico Madrid, Christian Pulisic, who left for the San Siro to play for AC Milan.

Stamford bridge lost big names to the Saudi exodus, including goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, defender Kalidou Koulibaly, and most notably, club legend Ngolo Kante.

Chelsea’s biggest outgoing transfers included fan favourite Mason Mount moving to Manchester United,  Champions League final hero Kai Havertz, who moved to another London club in Arsenal, and Mateo Kovacic, who moved to Manchester City.

After offloading players and making back some money, The Blues shifted their focus towards buying players who have not necessarily established themselves, but have shown promise.

Chelsea’s incoming players

Chelsea seem to be on a mission to acquire talented younger players who can stay at Stamford Bridge for long. Their marquee signing up until now has been 25-year-old Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig for  £52m.

Their other big money signing includes 22-year-old forward Nicolas Jackson from Villareal for £30m.

As demonstrated from the above transfers, Chelsea are interested in nurturing younger talent rather than spending big money on already established players. This strategy has always worked in their favour, they have benefited from nurturing younger players like Mason Mount, who have had a long and successful stay at Stamford Bridge, as opposed to spending money on big names like Romelu Lukaku, who’s comeback to the club garnered more attention from off the field controversies rather than his on-field performance.

Chelsea have given senior team contracts to 4 players from their under 21 reserve team, namely Levi Colwill, Ian Maatsen, Cesare Casadei, and Lewis Hall.

Chelsea under Pochettino are looking to nurture younger talent, talent which they hope will serve them long.

Chelsea’s pre-season performance

As Chelsea are entering the upcoming season with a revamped squad, their pre-season fixtures become very important to test out the players.

 So far, they’ve had a successful campaign, starting with a 5-0 win against Wrexham, followed by another 4-3 win against Brighton, a 1-1 draw against Newcastle and a 2-0 win against Fulham.

Chelsea’s younger tribe and new signings seem to be adjusting to the first team environment quite well, with one preseason game against Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund remaining, Chelsea seem to be ready to recover from last season with completely new faces at the helm.