Chelsea will be looking to bolster their squad in multiple areas ahead of Enzo Maresca’s second season in charge.
The Blues will be looking to improve on their fourth-placed finish last season, as well as perform well on their return to the Champions League.
Liam Delap has already been signed to address the need at striker, adding a new profile the Blues were lacking. The Englishman will offer more physical traits and box threat.
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But perhaps even more important than adding a striker, the Blues are looking to add a left winger. Jadon Sancho has returned to Manchester United after his loan spell, while Mykhalio Mudryk’s future remains in the balance.
The flanks are extremely important positions in Enzo Maresca’s system. He uses them to isolate the wingers one-on-one with the opposition full-backs, optimising their output and allowing them to thrive.
During build up, the wingers will look to stay high and wide, pinning the opposition full-backs in position and creating more space for progression.
Chelsea look to progress through the thirds, before finding the wingers in those one-on-one isolations and encouraging them to force the issue and create chances.
Noni Madueke is the perfect example of this under Enzo Maresca. The Englishman averaged 6.81 progressive carries per 90 minutes last season, alongside 4.12 carries into the penalty area per 90 and 1.99 successful take-ons per 90 from 4.51 attempted.
On the other hand, Jadon Sancho averaged 5.20 progressive carries per 90, 2.91 carries into the penalty area per 90 and 2.30 successful take-ons per 90 from 4.95 attempted.
These numbers show while Sancho is good at beating his man, he doesn’t convert his take-on by driving into a dangerous area as often as Madueke. Instead, Sancho often checks back after beating a man to retain possession.
While both Madueke and Sancho tend to operate in those wide touchline positions, their interpretation of the role is different, especially when it comes to their behaviours.
Sancho is much more of a pass-first creator. He looks to use his precise dribbling qualities to open passing angles and find his teammates, rarely taking shots of his own.
Meanwhile, Madueke is much more direct, looking to get his head down, find his way closer to the box and get shots off.
Sancho clearly lacks the explosive pace to get away from his man. This leads to him having to beat the full-back multiple times, rather than beating him and powering away.
This is why the addition of Jamie Gittens on the left could be a huge upgrade for Chelsea, adding that same explosive one-on-one power as Madueke.
The 20-year-old Dortmund winger averaged 5.74 progressive carries per 90 in the Bundesliga last season. He also averaged 3.20 carries into the penalty area per 90 and a whopping 3.91 take-ons per 90 from 8.68 attempted. That was more than anyone in the Bundesliga last season.
Gittens is an excellent one-on-one player. He possesses the ability to go both ways and the turn of pace off the spot to slow defenders down before powering away.
The English winger does a brilliant job at keeping his body orientation upright when facing up the opposition defender, giving no hints as to what way he is going to go.
This allows Gittens to create good separation from the defender, either driving to the byline or cutting inside and getting a shot off, something he has made a bit of a staple move.
By adding another shoot-first winger with pace to burn, Chelsea’s dynamics could improve tenfold next season, adding more runners around Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez.