The Top Flight
Fansided

English Premier League: 5 things to watch in Chelsea’s 18-19 season

By Orri Benatar

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 05: The Chelsea pennant is seen during the FA Community Shield between Manchester City and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on August 5, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 05: The Chelsea pennant is seen during the FA Community Shield between Manchester City and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on August 5, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
MADRID, SPAIN – APRIL 18: Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga of Athletic Club in action during the La Liga match between Real Madrid CF and Athletic Club de Bilbao at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on April 18, 2018 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN – APRIL 18: Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga of Athletic Club in action during the La Liga match between Real Madrid CF and Athletic Club de Bilbao at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on April 18, 2018 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images) /

With new manager Maurizio Sarri, Chelsea is in a position to restart after a lackluster season. The players they kept and brought in are crucial to a positive season.

The Blues ended the season with mixed emotions. Whilst Chelsea finished fifth in the league, they did win the FA Cup to grab a trophy for a second consecutive season. After that FA Cup win, things went sour with Conte’s firing and exit rumors of many Chelsea stars like Eden Hazard and Willian.

With their opener at Huddersfield just days away, I think Chelsea fans have a lot to look forward to and watch in 2018-19.

Life without Thibaut

Thibaut Courtois is off to Real Madrid. The Golden Glove winner from the World Cup got his desired move after being AWOL from training and preseason and will suit up for Los Blancos. With Courtois’ return to La Liga, Chelsea needs a new goalkeeper.

That new goalie looks like it will be Athletic Bilbao man Kepa Arrizabalaga, who will pay his €80million release clause and become the most expensive goaltender of all-time. The 23-year old Spaniard played in 30 games last season for Bilbao, who finished 16th in the league and conceded 49 goals. It’s a big risk for Sarri to have Kepa as the number one. It will be very difficult for Chelsea not to have the superstar Belgian.

https://twitter.com/realmadriden/status/1027276419678851072

The new midfield trio

The Courtois deal did have a positive for Chelsea. In exchange for the Belgian, Chelsea now has Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic on loan. This is excellent business for the Blues, whose only other additions are Robert Green and Jorginho. The 24-year old Kovacic is very talented and will be able to add a creative spark to Chelsea’s center of midfield.

Kovacic joins new signing Jorginho from Napoli and of course, N’Golo Kante. These three form a deadly trio in midfield that can cause teams a lot of problems. Kante and Jorginho just won’t let anyone get past them while Kovacic can create in the offense with Eden Hazard and Willian, who Chelsea are gonna keep. This makes top four chances much, much better.

Home/Chelsea