Chelsea restart their campaign with some uncertainties


Chelsea restart their campaign with some uncertainties

Lampard 1

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The Premier League season was stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic. Mikel Arteta tested positive and the league was stopped since then. The league finally restarted on 17th June with Aston Villa and Sheffield playing on the first day.

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Today, Chelsea restart their campaign with a trip to Aston Villa. There has been some positive news for Chelsea fans recently. The club announced the signing of Timo Werner from RB Leipzig. Werner will excite the blues’ fans due to his skills and abilities.

However, there are also some uncertainties at the club. To start the next season all fired up, Lampard will have to manage few things. The looming questions need to be answered to have a great season ahead. Here we look at some of the problems for the Chelsea Football Club.

1. Abraham’s position at the club after Werner deal

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Timo Werner’s transfer to Chelsea was announced a while ago. While the Blues’ fans will be happy with the signing, it does raise a question. Tammy Abraham, who was the starter for Chelsea this season, will he be benched? In most likely circumstances it looks the most obvious option. Tammy has scored 13 goals in the league.

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However, he has just struck twice since the middle of December. Will the Werner move hamper his development, or it is the right choice, for now, to play Tammy from the bench? Even though Abraham looked the ideal man to lead Chelsea, he has been poor in phases. Werner’s experience of playing in Champions League will help the young Chelsea squad to get through some nervy games.

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With as much as 4 competitions to play in, Abraham can rotate with Werner when needed. It is difficult to imagine benching Werner over Abraham. The other option is to play the two strikers together upfront. However, Lampard does not prefer 2 forwards. Werner’s versatility means that Abraham can come on without replacing Werner on the field. If needed Werner can play from the left with Abraham as the center-forward. With Lampard as a coach, Abraham can be assured of his playing time even after a high-class signing.

2. Willian and Pedro contract extension

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The contract of the two senior players at the club will be coming to an end. The contract will be ending even before the current season ends. This leaves Lampard with a problem. With Werner and Ziyech only arriving in the summer it seems likely that either Willian or Pedro, or rather both will set to leave next season.

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However, Chelsea still have some convincing to do to them to stay till the end of this season. If Chelsea are to qualify for the Champions League next season, they will need Willian and Pedro to stay until season end. After the restart, due to increased injury concerns, it is always helpful to have a big squad. Will Willian and Pedro agree to stay despite knowing that they may not be a part of Lampard’s plan next season?

3. Kepa Situation

Time may be only solution to solve Lampard's unforeseen Kepa problem

When Kepa Arrizabalaga was signed as Courtois replacement, it seemed that it was a great signing. However, this season Kepa has not been the same as he was during his time at Bilbao. Lampard reacted to the failures by dropping Kepa for Caballero. Robert Green, the former England International also went on to say that Kepa knows he cannot outlast Lampard at Chelsea.

The Spaniard Kepa has come in for heavy criticisms following a series of blunders. Kepa this season has the lowest save % in the league. Lampard would prefer to replace Kepa if given the chance. There have been rumours of Chelsea tracking Andre Onana as a replacement. However, Chelsea management will hope that the Spaniard improves his performance. Kepa became the most-expensive goalkeeper after his transfer to Chelsea, hence Chelsea expects a lot from him.

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