Football Season Guide

Antonio Conte’s first season in charge saw Chelsea playing some near perfect football on the way to the domestic title back in the spring, but the Italian specialist is having a bit of a turbulent summer so far. Despite the title, Conte is unhappy with the lack of quality signings that were completed, although he already added Alvaro Morata, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Antonio Rudiger to boost every area of the pitch. Chelsea will start the new season trying to use the same formation and tactics as last year, but the depth of the squad will be tested this time around as they will have Champions League football to think about, plus new main figures up front will need to be found. Top goalscorer Diego Costa is destined to leave the club, while both Eden Hazard and Victor Moses are starting the season injured, which seriously limits the threat coming from the wings. Morata was signed to replace Costa as the leader of the attack, but he might need some time to adapt to the Premier League and there aren’t many expecting fireworks from him in the first few months. The first-choice options for Conte are definitely very good but there are not many supporting options for some positions, mainly on the wings, and the gaffer knows that in a long season with many different fronts to fight on, this might be the downfall if injuries to key players happen along the way. Of course, Conte is actively looking to sign more players and knowing Chelsea’s financial power, this can be expected before the end of the transfer window. At least they look very strong defensively, with the backline bolstered by Antonio Rudiger’s arrival. This suggests that the Blues will be relying mainly on solid defending and keeping clean sheets this season but everybody knows that they can also be devastating going forward if all first-choice players are fit and feeling well.