The mood has changed, Lampard cut a frustrated figure and had made it clear that he wanted attacking reinforcements after Chelsea’s transfer embargo in 2019. Chelsea’s latest signings have already brought in some pressure on Frank Lampard and excitement into the lives of blues fans. Right after the January transfer window got closed Chelsea had confirmed the transfer of Hakim Ziyech from Ajax for a reported fee of 44 million euros. Recently, the signing of Timo Werner was announced on the 18th of June, the deal was done well before time as Timo Werner’s release clause was about to expire within a few days.
These signings meant that Chelsea needed to improve and to bridge the gap in the top four, Timo and Ziyech are nice statement signings. The summer transfer window has not even opened and Chelsea has so far confirmed the signing of 2 players. This utterly means that Roman Abramovich has nothing to prove that is he still committed towards the club or not.
Chelsea have been either playing a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 formation under Frank Lampard for most part of the season. The players have also been playing under the 3 at the back defensive system, in all Frank Lampard is a versatile manager. In my opinion the managerial changes in the past have helped the players to adapt to the systems easily.
During the 2019/20 season Tammy and Giroud have been playing upfront as lone strikers. Tammy Abraham has scored 13 goals in the premier league since the start of the competition, while Giroud has only started only 5 premier league matches and has scored 2 goals. Both Tammy Abraham and Giroud are capable of holding the ball well, but when it comes to linking up with the teammates Giroud has to be the main man.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic Giroud was playing week in, week out and had scored 2 goals against Tottenham Hotspurs and Everton. Giroud likes when the wingers play close to him and players like Mason Mount and Ross Barkley make the runs that is when Giroud is most effective.
Tammy is the kind of player who likes the wingers to stretch the defensive line of the opposition and that’s when he will get a lot of space inside the opposition box and he would be able to score the goals.
According to me Giroud is a beast up top, which enables more space for the mid-fielders to exploit and helps Chelsea to excel.
Timo Werner, there isn’t much more to be said about this player who has been scoring goals in the Bundesliga and the Champions league for fun. He has scored 26 goals in the 2019/20 campaign and 4 goals and 2 assists in the champions league. He has been playing in the front 2 for RB Leipzig, Timo is not a typical kind of centre forward who can physically match the opposition centre backs.
Werner prefers to have the freedom to move around and likes to use his pace to beat the opposition centre halves. That is why Werner is at his best when he is playing with another striker who does the dirty job of winning the aerial duels and hold the ball upfront.
Hakim Ziyech is the kind of player who is versatile and is able to adapt to different tactical set ups. Chelsea has been in a need of a genuine playmaker since the departure of Eden Hazard. The Moroccan is capable of identifying and exploiting the attacking possibilities missed by everyone on the pitch.
Ziyech has already proved himself in front of the European Giants in 2018/19 by knocking the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus, and very nearly Tottenham. He was also involved in a thriller match against Chelsea in the 2019/20 campaign in the month of November and provided 2 assists and scored an incredible goal from an almost impossible angle.
Ever since the news was confirmed, it brought scrutiny on the wingers and both Willian and Pedro will be leaving Chelsea. As the duo would be arriving at Chelsea for the next campaign Werner and Ziyech will have to adapt to the premier league as soon as possible.
In my opinion Chelsea might be playing in a 4-3-3 or in a 4-2-3-1 offensive minded system and Timo would be playing as an inverted forward playing along with Giroud or Tammy Abraham. While Ziyech would be deployed as a right winger, while both Pulisic and Callum Hudson Odoi will serve as back ups.
Chelsea have increased the depth in the mid-field while Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Barkley and Mason Mount competing for the same position. The likes of Billy Gilmour, Jorginho, Kovacic and Kante will have to compete for the double Pivot system. According to me Chelsea needs to sell atleast one of their midfielders otherwise this might hamper the performances of the future talents.
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