Relentless Chelsea see chance to test evolving squad at Club World Cup

Yahoo

7 hours ago

This is the never-ending season but Chelsea show no sign of wanting to slow down. They intend to embrace Fifa's newly revamped Club World Cup – a potential £97m prize pot for the eventual winners is quite the draw in an age of intense financial scrutiny, after all – and have travelled to the US knowing that the tournament gives them an opportunity to find out more about a squad that has evolved in the short space of time since Enzo Maresca's side beat Real Betis in the Uefa Conference League final on 28 May.
There has been little time to pause for breath before Chelsea get up and running in Group D by facing the Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC in Atlanta on Monday. Some players have had a 10-day break, others have been away on international duty and there has been no sign of anyone in the recruitment department taking a bit of annual leave.
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The sporting directors, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, have been busy assessing possible ins and outs. Joe Shields, the co-director recruitment of talent, has made his presence felt in the arrival of Liam Delap from Ipswich and the pursuit of the Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens. The pace is relentless. It speaks volumes that nobody raised an eyebrow at João Félix, who joined from Atlético Madrid for £45m less than a year ego, being left out of Chelsea's 28-man squad last week.
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The evolution is constant.
Chelsea have shown decisiveness in their hunt for a new striker, moving swiftly to land Delap for the bargain price of £30m, while they have been clinical in other areas. They were right not to sign Jadon Sancho on a permanent basis, even though sending the winger back to Manchester United triggered a £5m penalty. Refusing to pay over the odds for Gittens and the Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan before the registration deadline for the group stages of the Club World Cup was also encouraging, especially as doing so was always going to be seen by more impatient supporters on social media as some kind of major negotiating fail.
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It is not as if the business has been limited to Delap. Space has been found in the travelling party for other newcomers – the 19‑year‑old goalkeeper Mike Penders, the 20-year-old centre‑back Mamadou Sarr, the 20-year-old midfielder Dário Essugo and the 21-year-old Brazilian prospect Andrey Santos, who developed well during a year on loan at Strasbourg, Chelsea's partner club.
Meanwhile there will be eyes on Palmeiras's progress in Group A given that their 18-year-old winger, Estêvão, is joining Chelsea after the tournament and is seen by many observers as a future Ballon d'Or winner. A late call has also been made for Kendry Páez, the Ecuadorian prospect, to travel to the US to train with his new clubmates before joining Strasbourg on loan.
This is a chance for Maresca to finesse patterns, improve old on-pitch relationships and develop some new ones. It is not ideal that Chelsea's Premier League campaign will be compromised if they go all the way in the US – the final is less than a month before the start of the domestic season – but there is no point grumbling about fatigue. The reality is that Chelsea, whose endurance will also be tested by participation in the Champions League, are where they want to be. The club's American owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, are hardly going to complain about involvement in a month-long Stateside marketing extravaganza.
Can Chelsea go all the way? Formidable opponents await them in the latter stages but they should make it through Group D with something to spare. LAFC offer the familiarity of the former Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and the former Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud but both are past their best. Chelsea surely just need the right attitude. Further games against Espérance and Flamengo in Philadelphia look inviting enough.
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Yet the limited nature of the opposition will not stop Maresca from learning more about his players. There is scrutiny on the goalkeeping position following the move for Maignan, which did little to quell the impression that Chelsea will listen to offers for Robert Sánchez and Filip Jörgensen. Djordje Petrovic, meanwhile, is certain to leave after asking to be omitted from the squad. The Serbian goalkeeper impressed on loan at Strasbourg last season and wants regular football.
The competition is fierce. Sánchez retains the support of Ben Roberts, the global head of goalkeeping, and did well at the end of last season but whether Maresca fully trusts him is less clear. Chelsea have options. There is a lot of excitement about Penders, who will probably start as the third choice after Marcus Bettinelli's move to Manchester City.
The pressure to perform is clear. There is a battle for supremacy in attack. Delap, who scored 12 goals for Ipswich last season, has taken the No 9 shirt and will try to usurp Nicolas Jackson up front. How will Jackson respond? Talk of Chelsea looking to sign another striker raises questions over the Senegal international's future.
There are few untouchables at Stamford Bridge. The list of players who can leave is extensive. There are the expensive castoffs who have been left behind and have no future at the club – players such as Raheem Sterling, Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Ben Chilwell and João Félix – and then there are those such as Noni Madueke. The winger was important for Maresca last season but some have misgivings over his development. Estêvão, who plays in Madueke's position, is coming. Geovany Quenda joins from Sporting Lisbon next year.
This is the reality at Chelsea. They just keep going; the challenge is to keep up.