Chelsea summer transfer news, odds and potential Enzo Maresca line-ups
Chelsea have been busy in the summer transfer window.
Despite all the money they’ve spent in the few years since their takeover, there seems to be no stopping. This summer alone, the Blues have brought in nine new players, ranging from Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer to £54m Pedro Neto.
Neto’s move was one that surprised some, especially given how stacked Chelsea are in attacking areas.
“Chelsea have just got to stop buying players, and players have got to stop signing for Chelsea. If I was a player, I’d think ‘why I would sign?’,” Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports of Chelsea’s transfer business.
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“The only reason you would sign is because your agent might say, ‘we’re getting a seven-year deal on big money, that’s guaranteed money for seven years.
“You know what I would say? Back yourself, sign a four-year deal at a proper club. When you’re due for renewal, your money goes up anyway.
“It’s not a young and exciting team. They’ve bought Joao Felix, where’s he going to play? They signed Pedro Neto a week ago, where’s he going to play when you’ve got Cole Palmer already?
“Where would you play Enzo Fernandez, a £100m player? Where would you play Christopher Nkunku?
“Great football teams need competition, but every team I played in there were seven or eight players who knew they were playing every week.
“There were six or seven players fighting for three positions, and another six or seven who knew they were squad players. That’s a healthy squad.”
Of course, there have been outgoings too. Squad trimming has seen the likes of Ian Maatsen, Lewis Hall, Omari Hutchinson, Hakim Ziyech and Thiago Silva all leave. Then there are reports of further departures including Conor Gallagher, Trevoh Chalobah and Ben Chilwell.
We’ve taken a look at the strong rumours surrounding Chelsea’s incomings, with bookmakers‘ favourites and some suggestions of our own below…
Joao Felix
Let’s start with the one that looks certain. It’s a move that not many Chelsea fans are happy with, but Joao Felix is apparently on his way back to Stamford Bridge.
The Portuguese forward spent the second half of the 2022/23 Premier League campaign on loan at Chelsea from Atletico Madrid. In that time he played 16 league matches, scoring four goals and got sent off on his debut — which ruled him out for three games. And that sending off pretty much summed up his time at Chelsea.
Felix flattered to deceive in west London, scoring just one of his six big chances and only creating seven chances himself. Even when you take into account the limited game time, that’s 0.67 chances created per 90 minutes.
After returning to Atletico Madrid from Chelsea, Felix then spent last season on loan at Barcelona. At the Nou Camp, Felix played 30 games in La Liga but amassed 1,542 minutes — averaging 51.4 per match. In that time, he was directly involved in 10 goals, scoring seven and providing three assists. Per 90 minutes, that was 0.41 goals and 0.18 assists, from 3.56 shots and 1.11 chances created.
At Chelsea, Felix would be just another name to fill the false nine role for a club that really need an actual striker.
Victor Osimhen
So, how about an actual striker?
Chelsea have continued to be linked with Victor Osimhen this summer, a striker at the top of a lot of wishlists.
One of the biggest problems for Chelsea last season was their finishing, and that was reportedly one of the reasons why the board wanted to part ways with Pochettino. The Blues ranked fourth in the Premier League when it came to big chances last season, having 122 in total. Only Manchester City (124), Liverpool (128) and Newcastle United (134) had more. However, Chelsea missed 73 of their big chances, with only Liverpool (79) missing more.
Nicolas Jackson was the biggest culprit for this, missing 24 of his 35 big chances. He did also score the most non-penalty big chances for Chelsea, and ended the season in good form.
Despite suffering with injury and then being called up for the African Cup of Nations, Osimhen still finished in the top three goalscorers in Serie A. The Nigerian netted 15 goals in 25 games, averaging 0.68 per 90 minutes.
He also averaged 4.07 shots per 90 and 1.85 shots on target. In direct comparison, Osimhen did miss 15 of his 28 big chances, though that is a better average than Jackson.
According to reports, Chelsea are pushing to sign Osimhen on loan from Napoli with an option to buy next summer. It’s a move that would work well for the Blues as it would allow them to delay the fee for another year. Chelsea will also hope that Napoli’s interest in Romelu Lukaku could help them in negotiating a move.
Karim Adeyemi
An alternative forward option for Chelsea, and one they’ve been linked to, is Karim Adeyemi. The German is much more raw and appears more often as a winger than through the middle. Signing Adeyemi would mean Chelsea put their full faith in Jackson and Christopher Nkunku as their central attacking options.
Last season in the Bundesliga, Adeyemi was hampered a bit by injury, amassing 911 minutes across 21 appearances. He started ten times and scored only three goals in the Bundesliga – averaging at 0.3 per 90 minutes.
This is more about the promise and potential rather than a ready-made arrival. Adeyemi averaged 2.27 shots per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga last season with 0.99 shots on target. Creatively, it was 0.89 chances created per 90 minutes ending in one total assist.
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Bremer
Chelsea could also do with a centre-back, to replace Thiago Silva. Tosin Adarabioyo has come in on a free transfer but business doesn’t look to be done.
None of Chelsea’s centre-backs really shone last season and the one who did most, Trevoh Chalobah, looks set to be sold by the board. Against Man City, Wesley Fofana very much looked like a centre-back that hadn’t played football in a year due to injury.
One potential name, to join the back four or a back three, is Gleison Bremer. According to reports earlier this summer, Chelsea were considering a £60m move for the Brazilian, who made 84 headed clearances in Serie A and won possession 115 times in the defensive third — the latter the third-highest in the division.
At 27, Bremer is still just about to hit his peak while also bringing much-needed experience to Chelsea’s defence.
Reports have quietened recently, but things could ramp up again if Chelsea’s slow start to the season carries on.
Murillo
Another Brazilian centre-back linked with a move to Chelsea this summer, Murillo is one with Premier League experience. He moved to the English top-flight last summer, joining Nottingham Forest from Corinthians and had a decent first campaign.
The 22-year-old played 32 of Forest’s 38 Premier League games and completed the division’s third-most clearances at 185. He also won possession 91 times in the defensive third with 78 clearances and 50 tackles.
He’s confident with the ball at his feet, and completed the second-most take-ons among Premier League centre-backs while also attempting the second-most through balls (six). However, we must not that he didn’t complete a through ball, and his long passing was slightly lacking — though accuracy is hard to achieve.
Murillo has also spoken about his future, hinting at a potential move with Forest a stepping stone for a bigger Premier League club.
“I know there was a buzz of interest. So, I don’t know exactly how much the [asking price] amount is, but I know there was interest,” he told Benja Me Mucho podcast.
“I had the dream of playing in the Premier League and I had that thought. I thought: ‘I’ll go to Nottingham Forest, have a good year and then I’ll go to a big club’. I had that in my head.”
Three ways Chelsea could line up under Enzo Maresca next season
Maresca’s favourite
Enzo Maresca has generally utilised a hybrid of a 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 at Chelsea so far, including pre-season matches. His favourite at Leicester was a 4-3-3, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if that was Chelsea’s long-term formation.
It would be a slight change for Chelsea, narrowing their attacking options, but it could be done. Romeo Lavia has been the favourite so far to join Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo in midfield. Joao Felix and Victor Osimhen would likely be joined by Palmer in attack.
Copying Poch
There is, however, a chance that Maresca may opt to keep the boat steady. Chelsea were looking good towards the end of the 2023/24 campaign, finding their feet with a 4-2-3-1.
In this formation, Cole Palmer can thrive on the right but also play centrally in a more fluid attack. Maresca has also hinted at playing Reece James in midfield, doing his research by watching Wigan games from the Englishman’s loan.
Pre-season clue?
In his first pre-season game in charge of Chelsea, Maresca actually opted for a back three. Of course, personnel will have influenced the decision, but it may be a formation Maresca goes back to.
Again, this would allow James to play in midfield, allowing the option to move to a back four depending on the phase of the game.
