It is now less than a month until Chelsea begin their pre-season campaign against Wrexham in the United States as the Enzo Maresca era gets underway.
And for the Blues, it is set to be a busy few weeks behind the scenes as they focus on transfer business ahead of their new head coach’s first season with the club. Already Chelsea have signed Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer to bolster their defensive options and they are not done there either.
A number of positions are being addressed this summer, with a central striker top of the club’s agenda. Initially, Benjamin Sesko was wanted at Stamford Bridge but the Slovenia international instead decided to extend his contract at RB Leipzig, despite mass interest in his signature.
Jhon Duran was then considered – and while interest has cooled, a move for the 20-year-old has not been ruled out this window. Samu Omorodion from Atletico Madrid has also been looked at but the La Liga club are determined to keep hold of the Spaniard this summer.
Now, Chelsea are considering a move for long-term target Jonathan David. football.london understands the Blues have held initial talks with the Canadian’s representatives to see if he would be interested in a move to Stamford Bridge this summer.
The 24-year-old striker could be available for a cut-price deal this summer with just over 12 months remaining on his contract at Lille. David is eager to move from the French club this summer after years of speculation over his future, sources have told football.london.
Chelsea are keen to add more competition and support for Nicolas Jackson, who featured 44 times for the Blues in his debut campaign with the club. The 22-year-old was initially signed with the plan of being eased into action, football.london understands, but circumstances with injuries meant he had to carry the burden by himself at times.
If David is signed, then it will be an interesting battle between the two No.9s to see who can cement themselves into Maresca’s plans. With Chelsea in European football in the upcoming season, though, there should be plenty of rotation in the squad. However, football.london takes a look at the ‘dream’ Chelsea line-up for the upcoming season should they sign David.
We do not yet know who will start in goal under Maresca. There are reports claiming the Italian is looking forward to working with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, but Djordje Petrovic impressed in the second half of last season where he replaced the Spaniard as Mauricio Pochettino’s first-choice option.
Reece James and Malo Gusto are set to battle it out for the right-back spot. James had a disastrous 2023/24 campaign in terms of injuries and the Chelsea captain will be hoping the surgery he had on his hamstring in December can help him stay fit in the long run.
There are a variety of centre-back options to choose from. But the one duo a fair few Chelsea supporters are hoping to see is a partnership we have not seen before in Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill.
Marc Cucurella impressed towards the end of last season and has continued his form in the ongoing Euro 2024 campaign with Spain. The Spaniard seems to suit Maresca’s style of play more than vice-captain Ben Chilwell.
The midfield almost picks itself, particularly with the future of Conor Gallagher still up in the air. South American duo Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, the club’s most expensive transfers of all-time, need to form a solid partnership next season. At times last term, the duo did not work as well as hoped together.
In attack, we could see another winger brought in but for the purpose of this article we will be sticking with Raheem Sterling on the left-hand side. It will be interesting to see what sort of role Christopher Nkunku has at the club next season after his debut campaign saw him ruled out for the majority because of injury problems.
Nkunku could be deployed in the No.10 role behind David or Jackson. Cole Palmer can also be used in that central role, but he may start from the right wing instead.
Dream Chelsea line-up: Petrovic; James, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Palmer, Nkunku, Sterling; David.
