You ask what Chelsea fans are most excited about ahead of the 2022/23 season, some might say new signings, some might say a new era, and a lot will probably speak on the return of Ben Chilwell.
The dynamic left-back missed a majority of last season with an ACL injury that required surgery, only making his return to action on the final day against Watford in a late substitute cameo.
But Chilwell is back and raring to go, in the period before his injury last year he and his compatriot, Reece James, formed a highly impressive wingback pair, raging up and down the flanks to cause opposing defences havoc.
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With both in pre-season training in LA ahead of upcoming games against Club America, Charlotte FC and Arsenal they are likely to be joined by a new wide threat in the form of Raheem Sterling, who has agreed on a deal worth up to £47.5m from Manchester City.
Sterling will hopefully add the consistent productivity Thomas Tuchel has craved since becoming Blues boss and connect well with his fellow England teammates in the current squad.
What Sterling can also bring is some interesting combinations with Chelsea's first-choice wingback pair, particularly down the left where he has been deployed for the majority of his career.
This is not to say we couldn't see a shift, part of Sterling's gift is versatility, something Tuchel craves in his fluid frontline. And even some City fans were frustrated that Pep Guardiola did not use the 27-year-old more from the right, the area where he sparked the dramatic comeback against Aston Villa on the final day of last season.
However, down the left could prove quite devastating given Sterling's threat and anticipation at the back-post, whilst also adding to Chilwell's mobility seen in the early parts of last season, creating pretty exciting rotations to disrupt defensive lines.
We should firstly look at how Sterling and Chilwell have operated when playing together down the left for England and this feels pretty close to what we could see at Stamford Bridge. Taken from a World Cup qualifier in March of 2021, Chilwell started at left-back in a 4-3-3 behind Sterling. What is also convenient is that Mason Mount was used on the left of Gareth Southgate's midfield trio.
This created a nice passing triangle in moments when England advanced forward, offering Chilwell the opportunity to overlap and underlap, two things he did regularly for Chelsea in Tuchel's 3-4-2-1 formation.
Mount and Sterling would change their runs, either darting into the box or, more in the case for Sterling, drifting more centrally awaiting a cross.
One of the best examples of Chilwell's effective movement was when he swapped with Sterling, making an off-the-ball run away from goal to drag Michal Helik with him, which then opened up a gap for Sterling to run into.
His neat trickery got him into a shooting position before a last-ditch tackle blocked his run. But this movement is exactly what Tuchel will be hoping to replicate in the coming months.
These type of rotations were pretty prevalent under Tuchel last season and have proved a consistent source of how Chelsea create chances. Both Chilwell and James would switch their positions with their respective inside forward.
This was pretty effective in the run where Callum Hudson-Odoi started from the left with Chilwell. Both could rotate pretty freely. The strongest example of when this movement was at its peak last season was away at Leicester in a dominant 3-0 win.
Usually, this pattern would involve one of the three centre-backs, in this example Antonio Rudiger, switching the play out wide. Mostly finding the wing-back who would then look for a first-time pass into an off-the-ball run, usually made by Mason Mount.
The 3-4-2-1 could be altered in 2022/23 to a four-man defence to allow a talent like Sterling to drift into wider areas where he can be more aggressive and has showcased his talent consistently for Manchester City.
That would mean Chilwell and James would play more traditional fullback roles, something they have for England, but as shown from earlier examples, that does not mean the movement will be any less dynamic.
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