Frank Lampard took over at Chelsea last week.
He is expected to lead the team to successful season with the players at his disposal. He does not have too many experienced first team players and hence Lampard will have to be smart about how he chooses his players. Here is a look at how Frank might line up his team.
Formation: 4-3-3
Defence:
GOALKEEPER:
Kepa Arrizabalaga: The Spaniard joined the club last season on a record deal. Arrizabalaga joined Chelsea from Spanish club Athletic Bilbao after Thibaut Courtois joined Real Madrid by forcing a move out of Chelsea.
He played a brilliant debut season at Chelsea although he got involved in one negative controversy, the Carabao Cup final incident when he refused to come off. However, otherwise he has shown great growth and is one of the finer keepers in the English Premier League at this very young age.
RIGHT-BACK:
Cesar Azpilicueta: He is expected to be the club captain now with the departure of Gary Cahill and Dave deserves every bit of it. Since joining the club in 2012, he has shown great discipline, hard work and patience to develop and mature himself into one of the best defenders all across Europe.
Azpi is undeniably solid in defence and versatile enough to play anywhere his team needs him to be. He also can cross really well and play more than 55 matches a season with apparent ease. He needs to be at the club and on the pitch to marshal the Lampard army.
CENTRE-BACK:
Antonio Rudiger: The young German defender has risen greatly in the last two years. He was signed under the Antonio Conte reign and has shown great promise since his debut season. He is technically brilliant, has great physical strength and a good control of the ball.
He is still relatively young. has a good sense of tackling and can become one of the leaders in the Chelsea defence because of his balanced aggression and composure.
CENTRE-BACK:
David Luiz: The Brazilian is a senior player in the club now. This is his second spell in the club. He has played consistently under Maurizio Sarri last season and was one of the central players in the Sarriball system due to his play on the ball.
The Brazilian is over 30 and towards the end of his spell at Chelsea. However, under Lampard their will be more to prove as Luiz will need to take charge as well in defence. It remains to be seen if he is chosen over Christensen, but he certainly might get the nod due to the inexperience of the Chelsea squad.
LEFT-BACK:
Emerson: The Brazilian was another signing of the Antonio Conte era. However, he failed to break into the squad in the early days, due to the brilliant form of Marcos Alonso.
However, over the years, Alonso’s form has dipped and his defensive frailty has been exposed. He is now being put behind Emerson who is slightly more dynamic and energetic than Alonso.
Midfield:
HOLDING MIDFIELDER:
N’Golo Kante: Most Chelsea fans will be looking forward to this change as Kante was played out of position for an entire year by Sarri. Kante is currently the world’s best holding midfielder and his Two Premier Leagues, one FA Cup and one FIFA World Cup trophy all in the span of three years stands testimony to the fact that in all these teams, he was one of the most crucial players.
Being played out of position by Sarri, Kante will most possibly return to his initial position.
RIGHT CENTRAL MIDFIELDER:
Jorginho: He was signed under Maurizio Sarri as the key signing for the system he would play. He did make an impact in terms of being the marshall on the field who would dictate the play but his defensive frailty and occupying the Kante position meant that a lot more was expected of him and fans turned on him quickly.
However, there is no denying the sheer talent he has and Lampard would want to use him on a slightly more advanced role given his passing range and ability to control the game.
LEFT CENTRAL MIDFIELDER:
Mateo Kovacic: The former Real Madrid midfielder was signed by Chelsea this season after a season of loan at Stamford Bridge. The Croatian played over 50 games for the Blues and even though he did not score a goal, he was very impressive in the games.
He has a lot of energy in midfield, can tackle, can pass and can run with the ball. He is definitely a different dimension of player who can add a new kind of threat in midfield in terms of dragging defenders out of position.
Attack:
LEFT WING FORWARD:
Willian: The much coveted Hazard position will be covered by Willian now, the senior most attacking player in terms of experience at the club. He is the most dangerous wing player Chelsea has and he will be given the similar license that Hazard had at Stamford Bridge.
RIGHT WING FORWARD:
Pulisic: The golden boy from American football joined Chelsea this season. The winger is expected to become the star player Hazard was at Chelsea and given his young age, he can be expected to achieve great things at the club.
He played a brilliant tournament at the Gold Cup and is now expected to carry the form on at Chelsea.
CENTRE-FORWARD:
Olivier Giroud: Even at the age of 32, he will be expected to lead the attack,
given Chelsea’s shortage of strikers up top. He however, does a brilliant job in linking up play and can be expected to be a leader on the pitch.
SEE MORE:
Top 5 Chelsea players to be sold – Summer 2019
Chelsea FC Players Wages 2019 (Salaries Per Week List)
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