The Chelsea squad for 2024/25 finally has to deliver - especially as Enzo Maresca replaces Mauricio Pochettino as manager.
But do Chelsea have a plan? Since the new owners entered the building in the summer of 2022, they’ve gone from Thomas Tuchel to Graham Potter to Maurizio Pochettino and now Enzo Maresca as manager (with a couple of interims to mix things up, too).
In that same period Chelsea have recruited more than £1 billion in playing talent with varying success, yet how all these new players align with the philosophy of those various managers remains to be seen. Everything at Stamford Bridge right now feels incredibly disjointed, and just as it seemed Pochettino was bringing some balance last term, he was sacked.
You’d forgive Maresca for still being in the process of learning the names of his sizeable playing squad, despite ostracising the likes of Raheem Sterling from the outset. The Blues’ backroom staff managed to temporarily shift him down the road to Arsenal, but it’s a taste of what may be to come as the new boss battles to keep the oversubscribed ship afloat.
Given that the loss was against reigning champions Manchester City on the opening day, four points from their first three Premier League games is respectable, but Cole Palmer claiming a goal and four assists in those outings gives the impression that the former City man could once again be charged with holding everything together — not that you’ll ever see the pressure get to him.
Chelsea still feel as though they are in a mess of their own undoing, losing ground on rivals and looking far off what we expect from them in the modern era. The club needs a strong campaign to get things back on track.
If Maresca can keep his side competitive in the biggest games and pick up those points unexpectedly dropped elsewhere, improving on a top-six finish doesn’t feel beyond the realms of possibility.
Chelsea squad for 2024/25
Chelsea squad for 2024/25: Enzo Maresca's full team
- GK: Robert Sanchez
- GK: Filip Jogensen
- GK: Marcus Bettinelli
- GK: Lucas Bergstrom
- DF: Axel Disasi
- DF: Marc Cucurella
- DF: Benoit Badiashile
- DF: Tosin Adarabioyo
- DF: Levi Colwill
- DF: Ben Chilwell
- DF: Reece James
- DF: Malo Gusto
- DF: Wesley Fofana
- MF: Enzo Fernandez
- MF: Carney Chukwuemeka
- MF: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
- MF: Moises Caicedo
- MF: Cesare Casadei
- MF: Omari Kellyman
- MF: Renato Veiga
- MF: Romeo Lavia
- FW: Pedro Neto
- FW: Mykhalo Mudryk
- FW: Noni Madueke
- FW: Jadon Sancho
- FW: Cole Palmer
- FW: Joao Felix
- FW: Christopher Nkunku
- FW: Nicolas Jackson
- FW: Marc Guiu
Chelsea squad numbers for 2024/25
Chelsea manager
Enzo Maresca
After just one season as a manager in English football, Chelsea fans can be forgiven for feeling like they’re scraping around the bargain bin these days with the appointment of Enzo Maresca.
It’s one thing to be successful in the Championship, quite another to navigate the stormy waters of west London and the level of expectation he’ll face. Appointing Maresca is a huge gamble for Chelsea, and after recent failures it has to work out.
Chelsea's key player
Cole Palmer
Remove Cole Palmer from Chelsea last season and we’re not quite sure where the Blues would find themselves.
The 22-year-old made Chelsea relevant, carrying them throughout much of the campaign and snatching victory from the clutches of defeat on more than one occasion. A supreme talent who can rival the legend of Eden Hazard.
One to watch
Moises Caicedo
He’s the world’s most expensive midfielder, so it sounds like a simple observation, but after a slow start to his Chelsea career, Moises Caicedo started to look more like the player the Blues thought they were buying toward the end of last season. If he continues that form, Chelsea will be a different proposition altogether.
The mood
For a club that ended the season on a high, qualifying for Europe again, you would think an air of positivity had returned to Stamford Bridge. Alas, an uninspiring summer means the fanbase remains at odds with the owners and it doesn’t show any signs of getting better.
Most likely to...
Win the sack race! It’s a Chelsea tradition, right? And Blues fans aren’t overly inspired by Maresca’s appointment as boss. So when the tough times inevitably come during the season, don’t expect the fanbase to make it easy for the manager or the sporting directors who appointed him.
Least likely to...
Fall foul to PSR. Where others such as Everton and Nottingham Forest have failed before them, Chelsea continue to find new ways to navigate the Premier League’s financial rules. Don’t bet against them finding another significant asset they can flog to themselves!
View from the stands
Rory Jennings (@ChelseaRory)
Last season was dreadful… up until the last few games which was our best run for ages. Obviously, we then took the opportunity to blow it all up to smithereens.
The big talking point is the manager leaving. I was no lover of Pochettino, but we are now in unchartered territory with a boss untested at this level. Potter Mark II?
This season will be different because we’ll probably be even worse! Any good momentum we built up at the end of last season has been shot.
Our key player will be Cole Palmer. Unbelievably good – the only reason we weren’t a total embarrassment last season.
Our most underrated player is Malo Gusto – a quietly superb signing who is good enough at right-back to make fans forget Reece James is available for about four games a season.
Look out for Carney Chukwuemeka – a really good talent who suffered a bad injury last season.
Fans think our owners are a load of imbeciles.
The opposition player I'd love here is Rodri – one of the best midfielders in the world.
The opposition player who grinds my gears is Bruno Fernandes – an unbelievable moaner.
The active player I'd love to have back is Kevin De Bruyne. He wouldn’t go amiss, would he?
The thing my club really gets right is nothing.
The one change I'd make would be for fans to be a bit angrier and more organised in protesting against this shambles.
Our season ticket prices are being raised by eight per cent during a cost-of-living crisis... enough to pay Wesley Fofana’s wages for about half an hour.
The fans' opinion of the gaffer is that he’s untested at this level – no one found it an exciting appointment and Leicester fans didn’t seem fussed when he left.
We'll finish 9th.
