Chelsea dream of illustrious success, but this project is a work in progress, and there’s no doubting the Londoners’ improvements over the past several years.
Last season’s efforts under coach Enzo Maresca led to Champions League qualification and triumph across two continents, winning the Conference League and then beating Paris Saint-Germain over the pond to lift the Club World Cup in its fresh format.
Since Todd Boehly and co first arrived at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have recruited heavily, and this summer was no different. But there’s a new level of coherence about the squad, more focus and quality from corner to corner.
Liverpool
7
£415m
Chelsea
10
£285m
Arsenal
8
£255m
Newcastle
7
£250m
Man United
5
£216m
No longer are the Blues so reliant on Cole Palmer to lead the way. And that’s a good thing too, given the 23-year-old’s groin injury was confirmed by Maresca on Friday morning to have been aggravated, extending his spell on the sidelines.
How Chelsea can cope without Palmer
It’s not unfair to say that Chelsea have at times been reliant on Palmer’s brilliance since the Three Lions star transferred from Manchester City for £42.5m in 2023.
Across 101 matches in all competitions for Chelsea, Palmer has scored 45 goals and supplied 29 assists, effortlessly good in attacking midfield.
This season, a low-fitness first few months have put something of a spanner in the works, and that’s now set to drag through to the final month of 2025, striking a vicious blow against Maresca and his men.
However frustrating the setback is, this is no longer such a detrimental blow as it once was. After all, a number of Chelsea’s biggest talents have now grown into their skin.
Some believe Moises Caicedo has taken the crown as the club’s new main man. Truly, the Ecuadorian has come into his own this year, with Sky Sports’ Gary Neville even claiming he is “the best midfielder in the league”.
This is a far cry from the initial noise around his name after joining from Brighton for a record £115m fee in 2023.
But Caicedo’s not alone. Chelsea also broke the bank for Enzo Fernandez after the Argentine’s phenomenal World Cup campaign in Qatar. He has ebbed and flowed and been scapegoated on an occasion or two, but became an increasingly prolific force last year and works tirelessly to connect the thirds.
However, there’s another first-teamer down at Stamford Bridge who flattered to deceive for a time, but now is firing on all cylinders and might actually rival Palmer for the standing as one of the best players in the Premier League.
Chelsea star is now one of the best in the Prem
For as long as he is a member of the Chelsea first team, Palmer will be the poster boy. But the silky playmaker is no longer the head of a one-man outfit.
While the frontline is going from strength to strength, players like Marc Cucurella are finally realising their potential and shaping Maresca’s vision into one of completeness and depth.
In 2022, the 27-year-old joined Chelsea from Brighton for £60m, a staggering sum for a full-back. And for the first year or two, Boehly would have a hard time arguing he had received bang for his buck, even with the Blues’ wider problems exacerbating Cucurella’s own.
Journalist Tom Overend recently acknowledged the £175k-per-week talent “looked lost” during his first foray into life at Chelsea, but has since rebounded and is regarded as “one of the best left-backs in the world”.
The data speaks for itself. Cucurella’s tactical duty has changed since he first arrived from Brighton, inverting more often under Maresca’s wing, contributing to the build-up.
And with such confident passing, Maresca’s decision to use him in this fashion makes sense. As per FBref’s data, the Spaniard ranks among the top 11% of positional peers in the Premier League so far this term for assists, the top 2% for pass completion and the top 11% for passes attempted per 90.
Not only this, but Cucurella has also become more creative in his distribution. Sofascore record that he has averaged 1.4 chances created per Premier League match. On top of this, he has won two tackles on average each match and has won 58% of his ground duels.
Palmer and Cucurella are very different players and at different stages of their careers, but the latter’s meteoric rise is undeniable. He knows what it means to toil and struggle to get up from the wayside. Indeed, Cucurella was once branded a “disgrace” for his performances by the ever-outspoken Jamie O’Hara.
But the “machine”, as he has been called by content creator Terry Flewers, now undroppable, having added goals and assists to his game while reinforcing his defensive skillset and energising his athleticism.
Emphasising the trust his coach has in him, no Chelsea player has featured more often under Maresca’s leadership than Cucurella.
1.
Marc Cucurella
64
2.
Enzo Fernandez
63
3.
Pedro Neto
61
4.
Moises Caicedo
59
5.
Malo Gusto
57
It’s interesting to consider a full-back being among the most influential players within a competitive Premier League squad. Scant few could argue themselves with that standing within a team. Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold would be a good example.
Cucurella might not have the same range of passing, but if he continues in his current rich vein of form over the course of the season and the next few years, he would stake a compelling case for being one of the most complete defenders in the history of the division.
If that’s the case, surely he is shaping into one of the finest in the country.
