Squad Status: 2024/25 Season

[My Blood Is Blue]

The new season just around the corner, with yet another new manager and I'm sure eventually some new players in the squad and some others departing.

[Sleeping Dave]

Personally I think we only need a striker and potentially a new GK1. 

But we are likely to sell off Gallagher and Chalobah and hence they will need replacing. 

[Bob Singleton]

Before any ins and outs, this is essentially the squad the new coach will be working with based on those who played last season plus those out on loan.

I know some reportedly have clauses in their loans regarding the club they were loaned to having to buy them, but until that happens officially they're still Chelsea players.

44 players listed.

 

Goalkeepers:

Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Petrovic, Sanchez, Slonina
 

Defenders:

Badiashile, Chalobah, Chilwell, Colwill, Cucurella, Disasi, Fofana W, Gilchrist, Gusto, Humphreys, James, Maatsen, Sarr

 

Midfielders:

Caicedo, Casadei, Chukwuemeka, Fernandez, Gallagher, Hall, Lavia, Santos, Ugochukwu, Vale, Webster

 

Attackers:

Anjorin, Broja, Burstow, Fofana D, Hutchinson, Jackson, Lukaku, Madueke, Moreira, Mudryk, Nkunku, Palmer, Sterling, Washington, Ziyech

[boratsbrother]

39 minutes ago, Sleeping Dave said:

Personally I think we only need a striker and potentially a new GK1. 

But we are likely to sell off Gallagher and Chalobah and hence they will need replacing. 

I don't think we should splash out a lot of money on another striker. A decent,  experienced one who can take some of the pressure off Jackson is all we need imho. If we can get Mudryk and Madueka firing we will have more than enough goals for top four next season.  Defence is clearly the area which needs improving. A commanding CB is top priority  and a better keeper.

[Sleeping Dave]

57 minutes ago, boratsbrother said:

I don't think we should splash out a lot of money on another striker. A decent,  experienced one who can take some of the pressure off Jackson is all we need imho. If we can get Mudryk and Madueka firing we will have more than enough goals for top four next season.  Defence is clearly the area which needs improving. A commanding CB is top priority  and a better keeper.

What scares me is that we’ve spent a fortune on Disasi, Badiashile and Fofana and we are nowhere closer to finding the next “commanding” CB. 

I don’t trust these people to go out and try again. 

[My Blood Is Blue]

2 hours ago, Sleeping Dave said:

Personally I think we only need a striker and potentially a new GK1. 

But we are likely to sell off Gallagher and Chalobah and hence they will need replacing. 

I could accept Chalobah going, I would not be happy about Gallagher going though and I actually don't think he will.

Don't get me wrong, I want Chalobah to stay, but if it was a choice of 1 of the 2, Chalobah goes every time.

[My Blood Is Blue]

1 hour ago, Bob Singleton said:

Before any ins and outs, this is essentially the squad the new coach will be working with based on those who played last season plus those out on loan.

I know some reportedly have clauses in their loans regarding the club they were loaned to having to buy them, but until that happens officially they're still Chelsea players.

44 players listed.

I've highlighted in red those I see being sold and in yellow those I see going on loan.

 

Goalkeepers:
Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Petrovic, Sanchez, Slonina

Defenders:
Badiashile, Chalobah, Chilwell, Colwill, Cucurella, Disasi, Fofana W, Gilchrist, Gusto, Humphreys, James, Maatsen, Sarr
 

Midfielders:
Caicedo, Casadei, Chukwuemeka, Fernandez, Gallagher, Hall, Lavia, Santos, Ugochukwu, Vale, Webster

Attackers:
Anjorin, Broja, Burstow, Fofana D, Hutchinson, Jackson, Lukaku, Madueke, Moreira, Mudryk, Nkunku, Palmer, Sterling, Washington, Ziyech

 

That leaves us with:

2 GK
2 RB
1 LB
5 CB
6 CM
7 AT

Total:23

It feels possible Jackson will move to a wide forward and Palmer may even drop into a number 8, it makes it trickier to work out what moves will be made needed, but at the very least I think we're going to be in the market for a GK, LB and a Striker.

[Sciatika]

If Everton is having a fire sale, can we pick up anyone there on the cheap? According to their website, everything is up to 70% off. 🙂

 

 

 

[My Blood Is Blue]

19 minutes ago, Sciatika said:

If Everton is having a fire sale, can we pick up anyone there on the cheap? According to their website, everything is up to 70% off. 🙂

 

 

 

Why are you on the Everton website?!

[Sciatika]

Looking for bargains.

[chara]

36 minutes ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

Why are you on the Everton website?!

"Keep your friends close..and your enemies closer"🗡️🗡️

[Sciatika]

If we plan to be a more possession-based side, how does Mudryk fit in? To me, he seems like the archetypal counter-attacking player, given his pace, but he is also likely to be a player, along with Noni, who finds it difficult to hang on to possession, especially if he tries to hang on to the ball while waiting for support. Obviously, we need a combination of styles in our armoury, but I can see him spending a lot of time on the bench waiting to be brought on when we need a goal at the end. Or maybe he and Noni will be used against sides who operate a low block where their pace and directness are really beneficial. It seems to me that W&S have built a squad not well suited to what they say they aim to do.

[My Blood Is Blue]

2 hours ago, Sciatika said:

If we plan to be a more possession-based side, how does Mudryk fit in? To me, he seems like the archetypal counter-attacking player, given his pace, but he is also likely to be a player, along with Noni, who finds it difficult to hang on to possession, especially if he tries to hang on to the ball while waiting for support. Obviously, we need a combination of styles in our armoury, but I can see him spending a lot of time on the bench waiting to be brought on when we need a goal at the end. Or maybe he and Noni will be used against sides who operate a low block where their pace and directness are really beneficial. It seems to me that W&S have built a squad not well suited to what they say they aim to do.

Yeah, I agree, it does feel like the squad they’ve built doesn’t quite fit with what we’re being told the new coach wants to do. I’ll wait and see once we have a better idea of how he’ll set us up, but it definitely feels like an element of moving the goalposts to fit the new coach they want.

[Ham]

22 minutes ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

Yeah, I agree, it does feel like the squad they’ve built doesn’t quite fit with what we’re being told the new coach wants to do. I’ll wait and see once we have a better idea of how he’ll set us up, but it definitely feels like an element of moving the goalposts to fit the new coach they want.

A few people connected with Leicester have been saying that they think our squad suits Maresca to a tee. 

 

[martin1905]

11 minutes ago, Ham said:

A few people connected with Leicester have been saying that they think our squad suits Maresca to a tee. 

 

From what I've been watching and reading the last few days I'd agree with this.

Need a striker and goalkeeper, but we needed them whoever we bought in, other than that I think the squad is perfect for him.

I have heard a few people say that we haven't really got the squad to play possession football but I look at Enzo, Caicedo,  Palmer, Nkunku, Sterling, Madueke and can't see how it wouldn't work.

Cucurella, James, Gusto all perfect full backs depending on who inverts.

Colwill and Fofana both  ball playing centre backs, so was Badiashile before he fell apart. 

Needs a couple of additions but overall if we are looking for a manager to fit the squad, Enzo's style of play is spot on in my opinion.

The only players I don't see it really suiting are Disasi, Gallagher, Mudryk, Chilwell and possibly Jackson but I do feel he could become useful out wide although I think that's what will happen with him regardless of who the new manager is.

 

[My Blood Is Blue]

8 hours ago, Ham said:

A few people connected with Leicester have been saying that they think our squad suits Maresca to a tee. 

 

Yeah, I’ve seen the same. I think we’re likely to see some players playing in slightly different roles to what they were playing last season, which is why I’m struggling to align the two. At least, I hope that’s the case anyway!

Although, that said, I’m not sure I have confidence in our CBs to be on the ball as much as may be expected.

[My Blood Is Blue]

8 hours ago, martin1905 said:

From what I've been watching and reading the last few days I'd agree with this.

Need a striker and goalkeeper, but we needed them whoever we bought in, other than that I think the squad is perfect for him.

I have heard a few people say that we haven't really got the squad to play possession football but I look at Enzo, Caicedo,  Palmer, Nkunku, Sterling, Madueke and can't see how it wouldn't work.

Cucurella, James, Gusto all perfect full backs depending on who inverts.

Colwill and Fofana both  ball playing centre backs, so was Badiashile before he fell apart. 

Needs a couple of additions but overall if we are looking for a manager to fit the squad, Enzo's style of play is spot on in my opinion.

The only players I don't see it really suiting are Disasi, Gallagher, Mudryk, Chilwell and possibly Jackson but I do feel he could become useful out wide although I think that's what will happen with him regardless of who the new manager is.

 

I think we’ll still need a new CB.

Fofana can’t be seen as a genuine option for quite some time and even when he is, no idea where he’ll be in terms of quality after so long out and whether he’ll even be able to stay fit.

I think we really do need a proper top quality CB to partner Colwill.

[Thiago97]

8 hours ago, Ham said:

A few people connected with Leicester have been saying that they think our squad suits Maresca to a tee. 

 

I think as always with these changes, it’s a bit of a mix. We have talented players so they should be adaptable to some degree.

I know this will annoy plenty, but I can see him giving Sanchez as proper chance at being No1. No idea how good the Leicester keeper is that he brought in, but he is meant to be good with his feet.

i think most of our defenders will be ok up to a point. Chilwell looks the obvious candidate where it probably won’t suit him. 
 

Midfielders look ok again up to a point. He surely can’t waste Caicedo  a deeper role, but don’t think he will. We do probably lack a quick playing ball recycler in similar mould to how pivotal Winks was for him. Lavia can likely do this, but it’s getting him available to play.  I don’t think Enzo moves the ball quick enough, but could maybe adapt. Hard to imagine Maresca is planning on life with Gallagher at his disposal.

Attacking wide players is a bit mixed. I think some positives and negatives for Sterling. Madueke could thrive if he steps up under the new man. Mudryk on paper looks a difficult fit. Palmer will be fine anywhere, but we don’t want to reduce his influence by just being stuck out wide.

Jackson will be fine , but we need another option to really challenge him. As a few others have said, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jackson become a very strong wide attacking option throughout next season.  Nkunku will be fine too, but some concerns he likes to operate in similar areas to Palmer.

To be honest, I would happily trade off a small number of new players (1-2 ) , if it meant we get Nkunku , Lavia and James available for 30 PL games.  I think Lavia is going to be a key element to how successful Maresca can implement his plan. 

[ROTG]

9 hours ago, Ham said:

A few people connected with Leicester have been saying that they think our squad suits Maresca to a tee. 

 

so were good for the winning the championship by a nose 😀

[martin1905]

2 hours ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

I think we’ll still need a new CB.

Fofana can’t be seen as a genuine option for quite some time and even when he is, no idea where he’ll be in terms of quality after so long out and whether he’ll even be able to stay fit.

I think we really do need a proper top quality CB to partner Colwill.

I agree but feel it comes down to moving one or two on first. Chalobah being the obvious one plus, hopefully Disasi. I've nothing against him and he did a job for us last season but we can do better.

If, and it's a huge if, Fofana stays fit I have no doubt he and Colwill will be starting most games. Badiashile is more than adequate as cover for Colwill but we do need a suitable alternate,  possibly a replacement if he has more issues for Fofana. I just think we could get by with what we have, for now. 

The midfield really excites me and its clear we have spent a lot of money there to build a particular midfield. Everyone assumes we will sell Gallagher but is there a more perfect player for one of the 8's, especially when you look at how Maresca used them last year? One being Dewsbury-Hall who was the more, technical playmaker and the other being Ndidi.

Enzo, Caicedo and Lavia can all play as the deepest midfielder.  Personally I wouldn't want to waste Caicedo there, he would be 'the Ndidi' for me. If Lavia gets fit I feel the deep role suits him perfectly with Enzo taking up the 'Dewsbury-Hall' role. However Gallagher could quite easily be either or the number 8 roles.

Ugochukwu,  if he stays will definitely play as the deep player and I can really see Chukwuemeka fitting perfectly into this system. Anyway, we all assume Gallagher will be sold but that will leave us a bit short in midfield if we play three, which we almost certainly will so below is pretty much how I feel put midfield should be.

Lavia/Ugochukwu 'Winks'

Enzo/Chukwuemeka 'Dewsbury-Hall'

Caicedo/Gallagher 'Ndidi'

That looks pretty thin as we'd be relying on Lavia/Ugochukwu/Chukwuemeka to play an awful lot of football but it looks a lot thinner without Gallagher. 

It may be that Nkunku or Palmer play in one of the more central roles but that will leave us short out wide, relying on Mudryk to massively improve to be a genuine option in this system. I think Jackson will play more from the left giving us Jackson and Sterling as the main two and allowing Nkunku to maybe be utilised solely as one of the 8's. If we were to use Plamer centrally that leaves only Madueke on the right.

Whatever way we look at it, we have a fair few very versatile players, especially if you consider them for roles as opposed to positions but Gallagher will be ridiculously important and arguably the perfect 'Ndidi'. Some games we might want Palmer and Nkunku as the 8's, others Gallagher and Caicedo, depending on opposition. Take Gallagher away it it really does limit our options and foreces us, unless we replace him, to rely heavily on young players that couldn't stay fit last season.

I apologise for being so long winded but all I'm really trying to say is, as much as everyone expects Gallagher to be sold, I wouldn't be too surprised to see him stay. Most people are assuming because we will play a more possession based game he won't be as well suited, I think it's quite the opposite,  he's perfect for Maresca's system.

 

 

[My Blood Is Blue]

@martin1905 I completely agree with you RE Gallagher. It would be madness to let him go not just because of how good he has been this season, but also I see him fitting into this new system really well. As I understand it, Maresca likes to press high when the opposition has the ball at the back, if so, not many better than Gallagher and he'll also do the up-and-down running of the 8 all match. He is also one of the few players we have that seems to be able to stay fit (touch wood).

Also, as you point out, if we are moving to 3 man midfield, which seems likely, taking him out leaves us light and we'd likely need to then sign someone else or rely on a Casadei/Santos to pick up the game time.

[paulw66]

Lots of stories circulating that Chelsea have turned down various approaches for Santos, either loan or sale, and he's seen as an ideal profile for Maresca.

Could add fuel to the Gallagher departure rumours. 

[Mark Kelly]

1 minute ago, paulw66 said:

Lots of stories circulating that Chelsea have turned down various approaches for Santos, either loan or sale, and he's seen as an ideal profile for Maresca.

Could add fuel to the Gallagher departure rumours. 

This is another one that I appear to be on my own with , now I know the sample is great but last preseason when we had Santos playing for us , in my opinion he was inferior to Gabriel , and Gabriel has vanished on loan somewhere presumably never to be seen again and Santos is still being talked up.

I do question my judgement sometimes in the face of the collective opinion. 

[paulw66]

48 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

This is another one that I appear to be on my own with , now I know the sample is great but last preseason when we had Santos playing for us , in my opinion he was inferior to Gabriel , and Gabriel has vanished on loan somewhere presumably never to be seen again and Santos is still being talked up.

I do question my judgement sometimes in the face of the collective opinion. 

Both ended up at Strasbourg

Santos has already played for the full Brazil national team, which is some achievement and is only 6 months older. He must be highly enough regarded by those in charge to call him up.

Gabriel, whilst I can't say I watched him, played 24 games for Strasbourg without scoring, before getting injured. Hardly glowing for a forward. 

[Mark Kelly]

Just now, paulw66 said:

Both ended up at Strasbourg

Santos has already played for the full Brazil national team, which is some achievement and is only 6 months older. He must be highly enough regarded by those in charge to call him up.

Gabriel, whilst I can't say I watched him, played 24 games for Strasbourg without scoring, before getting injured. Hardly glowing for a forward. 

But Gabriel really did look the better of the two in our side which is odd given their reputation don't you think?