Chelsea's focus on bringing young talent to Stamford Bridge this summer is set to continue, with Thomas Tuchel's side 'close' to signing Russian wonderkid Arsen Zakharyan.
The Blues have spent over £150 million on six players so far this summer, and Chelsea are soon set to make it seven, with the 19-year-old's agent, Pavel Andreev, confirming Zakharyan is close to signing for the Blues. All summer, Tuchel has made it a priority to sign players for the future this summer, with youngsters Carney Chukwuemeka, Gabriel Slonina and Cesare Casadei having signed already.
The deal for the Dinamo Moscow forward is set to cost £12.6m according to his agent, and with deals for Wesley Fofana and Anthony Gordon still in the works, the Blues could potentially be spending around £300m in total this summer. Zakharyan has already made over 50 appearances for Dinamo Moscow and has broken into the Russian first team, despite only turning 19 in May.
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So, how could Zakharyan fit into the Chelsea set-up over the next few seasons if he made the move to west London? Could he become a regular for Tuchel, or could it be the wrong move for the Russian international?
Arsen Zakharyan's Chelsea future simulated
2022/23
On his arrival at the Blues, Tuchel judged it more beneficial for Zakharyan to spend the season on loan rather than in the academy set-up, sending the 19-year-old to Hull City. In his season with the Tigers, Zakharyan made 41 appearances, impressing with 11 goals and 10 assists.
Chelsea had a respectable campaign in the Premier League as they finished fourth in the table. They didn't challenge for the title as they finished 16 points behind Manchester City in first, but they were safe in fourth - 11 points ahead of Spurs in fifth.
The Blues had the worst defence out of the top five teams in the Premier League, conceding 37 goals across the season. Despite not challenging for the league, Tuchel's side did still win a trophy in the 2022/23 season.
Goals from Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic secured a 3-1 victory over Leicester to win the FA Cup. The Blues were knocked out in the Champions League quarter-finals after a 3-2 aggregate loss to Real Madrid, and Man City beat Tuchel's side on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the Carabao Cup third round.
2023/24
Zakharyan was kept at the Blues in the 2023/24 season and was integrated into the first team, though the Russian didn't make one start in any competition. Instead, Zakharyan was used from the bench, making 16 appearances as a substitute.
The Russian scored three goals which all came in the Premier League, one of which was an 84th-minute winner against Manchester United - ultimately playing a major part in Chelsea pipping them to third place in the league table.
Chelsea ended the season on 74 points - the same tally as the previous season, but one spot higher. Tuchel's side scored one goal less, but they conceded seven goals fewer as they improved defensively.
Poor results in the cup competitions saw the Blues win no trophies in the 2023/24 season. Chelsea were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and FA Cup, and they failed to get past the Carabao Cup third round again, losing 3-1 to Spurs.
2024/25
A big summer transfer window for Chelsea saw Joe Gomez, Kyle Walker, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Nacho Fernandez all sign for the Blues, whilst N'Golo Kante, Jorginho, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly all departed. With positions to fill, Zakharyan got his breakthrough into the starting XI and became an important player for Tuchel.
Zakharyan made 39 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea, scoring nine and assisting seven. The Russian international ended the season as Chelsea's third top scorer and fifth best assister whilst averaging a rating of 7.02 per game.
Sterling (23) and Kai Havertz (20) were the only players to score more for Chelsea, whilst Mount grabbed the most assists (16). Fellow youngster Chukwuemeka was also integrated into the first team during the 2024/25 season, scoring four and assisting eight in 30 games.
At the end of the season, FM22 released the Best XI from the Chelsea squad, using player statistics, league data and other measures to complete the team. Here's Chelsea's Best XI for the 2024/25 season, according to our simulation.
Full Chelsea Best XI (3-4-2-1): Mendy; Walker, Chalobah, Nacho; James, Mount, Gallagher, Chilwell; Havertz, Zakharyan; Sterling.
Zakharyan made the Chelsea best XI in the 2024/25 season, with Mount dropping into central midfielder to accommodate the youngster. Chukwuemeka missed out to Conor Gallagher in midfield, whilst Kyle Walker joined Nacho and Trevoh Chalobah in defence.
In Zakharyan's first season in the starting XI, Chelsea had their best campaign in the Premier League. The Blues finished second in the table, only behind the champions, Liverpool.
Ending the season on 79 points, Tuchel's side earned five points more than the previous season, finishing just two points off first place. Man City were in third on 77 in a three-way title battle.
All three title challengers conceded 34 goals and were joint for the best defence in the league, but Man City topped the scoring charts, netting 74 times. Chelsea were just behind with 71 goals - seven goals more than the 2023/24 season.
It was the Blues' best season since Zakharyan arrived, and Tuchel's side also won a trophy to top off a successful campaign. Chelsea beat West Ham United 2-1 in the Carabao Cup final, their second trophy in three years of the simulation.
They could've also made it to the final of the FA Cup, but after a 2-2 draw in normal time, Chelsea lost on penalties to Aston Villa in the semi-finals. Tuchel's side were eliminated from the Champions League at the quarter-finals stage once again, this time losing 3-0 over two legs to Man City.
Overall FM22 predicts that Zakharyan could take around three seasons to become a regular in the Chelsea set-up, playing on the left of the front three in a very attacking side. But, with Gordon also linked with a move who can play in the same position and Mount, Sterling and Havertz currently in those spots, the Russain may struggle to replicate the game time he received in real life.
Do you think Zakharyan could become a key player for the Blues? Let us know in the comments.
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