Chelsea FC fans were buzzing at the beginning of the season after the club was purchased by the Todd Boehly/ Clearlake Capital Consortium for a record fee. Few could have seen the impending disaster as Bruce Buck long serving chairman left his role and was quick to be replaced by a new look board.
Todd Boehly did not waste any time and hit the ground running signing player in the following players summer transfer window:
1)Gabriel Slonina (GK),
2) Kalidou Koulibaly (CB)
3) Marc Cucurella (LB),
4) Wesley Fofana (CB),
5) Carney Chukwuemeka (CM),
6) Pierre Emerick Aubameyang (ST)
7) Raheem Sterling (LW)
Blues could not have had a worse season with the Blues finishing a dismal twelfth in the Premier League. The Blues also crashed out of the FA Cup and Carabao in the third round and were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in the quarter finals.
1. Pierre E Aubameyang
Chelsea signed Aubameyang on 2 September 2022 for £10.3 million awarding the player a 2-year contract. Aubameyang was reunited with former coach Thomas Tuchel but unfortunately did not play due to a head injury. Pierre was given his debut on 1 October 2022 against Crystal Palace, where he impressed by scoring a goal on his debut. The striker did not score again under Graham Potter and this lack of form saw his minutes fall until he was no longer included in the matchday squad.
No reasons were given about why he was not included in the squad given that Chelsea was having difficulties scoring. The sacking of Graham Potter and return of Frank Lampard as an interim manager saw Aubameyang return to the squad. Super Frank experimented with including the forward in the team, but his goal scoring fortunes did not improve. Aubameyang failed to impress and was not included in the squad later in the season.
The forward played a total of 21 games for Chelsea with only 3 goals scored and made 1 assist. Pierre was almost non-existent in some matches he played getting few touches of the ball and having no shots on goal. In all matches he played he got 16 shots with only 7 shots on target.
2. Mykhailo Mudryk
Much was expected from Mykhailo Mudryk following a bidding war between Arsenal and Chelsea FC in the winter Transfer window. Mudryk came to Chelsea on the back of an impressive season in Ukraine where he scored 7 goals and provided 6 assists. Chelsea fans were expecting more of the same with their new player, but he did not hit the ground running as expected.
Mudryk captivated Chelsea fans with his impressive speed and dribbling. Despite this he has shown numerous weaknesses including poor finishing, inconsistent and poor crossing and holding on to the ball for too long. After playing 17 games for Chelsea Mykhailo has not impressed at all only contributing 2 assists.
3. Marc Cucurella
Marc Cucurella caught the eye after some inspired performances for Brighton & Hove Albion. He won Players’ Player of the Season and Player of the Season for 2021/22 season at Brighton and caught the eye of other clubs. Chelsea signed the left wing back for £55 million. Initially Cucurella impressed with his tackling and passing but came under criticism due to poor concentration. With the return of Ben Chilwell Cucurella has seen his performances being less in the team. The Spaniard hasn’t performed that great to justify his price tag at Chelsea Football Club.
4. Raheem Sterling
Chelsea signed Raheem Sterling on 13 July 2022 for £47.5 million after 6 productive seasons at Manchester City. Sterling had built a reputation of being able to play across the front 3 positions with a good goal scoring record. Chelsea saw the opportunity to sign an adaptable that had fallen out of favour with Pep Guardiola. The winger made his league debut against Everton on the first weekend and scored his first two goals against Leicester on the 27th of August 2022. In his first 5 games he scored 3 goals and provided 1 assist. Sterling’s form fizzled out and didn’t score for 9 games. the forward also sustained Hamstring and Knee injuries which saw him miss out on seven games in the 2022/23 season. The performances saw Sterling produce his worst figure of 6 goals and 3 assists since the 2015/16 season.
5. Christian Pulisic
A lot was expected of £58 million transfer Christian Pulisic after signing the young American from Borussia Dortmund. Pulisic gave his best figures in the English Premiership in the 2019/20 season where he scored 9 goals in 25 games including an impressive hattrick against Burnley. It has been a tale of injuries that have affected the form of Pulisic in his time at Chelsea. In 2019/20 he tore an abductor muscle missing out on 8 games. The following season in 2020/21 he lost out on 6 games due to Hamstring and muscle injuries. His luck did not improve in the 2021/22 season, losing out on 10 games after a promising start to the season.
The 2022/23 season has not been any different to previous seasons with 9 games lost due to knee problems. His playing style of holding onto the ball gets him fouled often in the game and has been his downfall. His finishing has also let him down during his time at Chelsea as he has missed in decisive games through the season. With the recruitment of Sterling he has lost his rank in the squad and he has dropped down the pecking order significantly. If the player puts in a transfer request this season very few will stand in his way.
