CHELSEA’S loss to Aston Villa caused mass reflection on social media about where the ‘World Champions’ are at.
Fan fury was directed in all directions, at the players, the manager, tactical decisions, and more, but more than anything there is fury about the board and their signings.
The Blues replaced Noni Madueke with Estevao, Nicolas Jackson with Liam Delap, Christopher Nkunku with Joao Pedro, Kiernan Dewsbery-Hall with Andrey Santos, and Jadon Sancho with Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens in the summer.
But did they actually improve their team after spending £266.5m in the summer?
As revealed in last week’s edition of The Chelsea Files, they’re worse off in terms of points, but have been contending with more issues.
On a case-by-case basis, SunSport have delivered a verdict on whether or not Chelsea have improved their squad or not…
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MADUEKE vs ESTEVAO – It’s no denying Estevao has been the highlight of the Blues’ summer incomings, while Noni Madueke won’t be complaining at going from being backup at Chelsea, to backup at Arsenal.
Brazilian sensation Estevao hasn’t necessarily had the minutes to make a real impact in the Premier League, but has looked a successful signing with truly elite potential, as he showed against Barcelona.
Madueke though still looks like a player that Chelsea could use – he has had moments of brilliance in red so far.
If you asked most Chelsea fans, they would probably be pretty happy with this business, at least.
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NICOLAS JACKSON vs LIAM DELAP – Nicolas Jackson hasn’t set the world alight at Bayern Munich, with five goals in 17 games for the German champions so far.
But Liam Delap is still waiting for his first Chelsea Premier League goal.
Last season’s game against Bournemouth was a prime example of what Jackson could bring to this Chelsea team, when he dropped deep to set up Cole Palmer for a trademark finish.
For all his frustrations, it’s hard to imagine the Senegalese forward would be doing worse than what Delap has been so far, as he was growing into a player that looked as though he had a Premier League future.
Hindsight is key here, but Jackson would probably be preferred to Delap up front right now.
CHRISTOPHER NKUNKU vs JOAO PEDRO – When Joao Pedro joined Chelsea in the midst of the Club World Cup, he looked like the final answer to Enzo Maresca‘s number nine conundrum.
And while Nkunku scored a brace for AC Milan last weekend, it’s hard to argue that Joao Pedro hasn’t been an upgrade on the Frenchman.
Pedro has got six goals and three assists in 18 Premier League games for the Blues this season, and perhaps paid back his transfer fee by helping Enzo Maresca‘s side win the Club World Cup already.
The signing of Joao Pedro was a clear upgrade here.
KIERNAN DEWSBURY-HALL vs ANDREY SANTOS – The departure of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall might be the one that epitomises Chelsea’s strategy more than any other.
KDH showed up consistently when called upon by Maresca last season, and was replaced by Santos, who had spent the last campaign on loan at sister club Strasbourg.
While Santos has had a mixed start to life at Chelsea, Dewsbury-Hall has been one of Everton‘s best players this season, and is probably a better player in terms of quality this season than the Brazilian.
Santos, of course, will have been signed with a longer-term view, and will need more time to prove his class.
JADON SANCHO vs ALEJANDRO GARNACHO / JAMIE GITTENS – Jadon Sancho hasn’t exactly been digging up any trees at Aston Villa, but he certainly changed the game against Chelsea when he came on.
A combined £90m Chelsea outlay on Garnacho and Gittens, though, hasn’t exactly revolutionised things at Stamford Bridge either.
Garnacho has probably had the best season out of the three of them, with four goals and two assists in all competitions for the Blues, but hasn’t looked leaps and bounds better than what Sancho did in London last season.
This one is fairly 50/50, and if it was just Garnacho vs Sancho it would be a win for the Argentine winger, but if it was Sancho vs Gittens, you’d likely argue the case of the Villa man.
VERDICT: Overall, Chelsea probably have slightly upgraded their team in terms of quality from last season, but the signings of Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens and Andrey Santos have got a lot of work to do in the second half of the season to really justify that statement.
A football insider said: “Chelsea have to decide if they are a trading house for players, or they want to push for the title and buy serious players who will make an impact.”
That is the feeling shared by plenty of Blues fans too, who are growing more frustrated at their inexperienced squad as their seemingly annual mid-season dip goes on.
CONVERSION!
ARSENAL not winning the Premier League after being top at Christmas would be something of a relief for struggling Chelsea fans, who have kissed goodbye to their own title hopes.
Fortunately, a stat emerged over the festive period to give Blues supporters at least a little hope of that becoming a reality.
The statistic is that after being top of the tree on Christmas Day, Arsenal have not converted that success into a title from FOUR attempts in the Premier League era.
When comparing that to Chelsea, the Stamford Bridge outfit have a 100% record in the same metric, winning five out of five Prem titles when top of the league at Christmas.
FAMOUS FACES MAKE VILLA VISIT
THERE may not have been all that many positives from Chelsea’s loss to Aston Villa, but at least two fans got a nice day out.
One of them was Kenyan darts player David Munyua, who headed to the Bridge fresh from playing at Alexandra Palace in the World Darts Championships.
He was treated to a pitchside experience pre-match, in which he met Blues legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, and was wearing a top that read ‘WHY NOT’ on the back, donning the number 10.
A Chelsea fan for the last 10 years, he looked upset with the full-time result as he wandered from his seat out of the stadium, but will reflect positively on his visit to Stamford Bridge, no doubt.
The other, was actor Callum Turner.
The ‘Fantastic Beasts’ star is also the boyfriend of pop superstar Dua Lipa, and was in the Chelsea ‘Dugout Club’ hospitality seats, which come at a hefty price.
MATCH FOR HOPE
TWO Chelsea legends have already been unveiled for the final rendition of the Match For Hope charity football match in Qatar at the end of January.
The match, dubbed ‘The Final Showdown’ will feature Blues heroes Eden Hazard and Diego Costa, with other names to be confirmed in due course.
It takes place on the 30th January 2026, and also features other footballing greats, such as Marcelo, Thierry Henry, and Tim Cahill.
Thankfully for Costa, it’s pretty unlikely Martin Skrtel will be drafted in, after they clashed in the Chelsea vs Liverpool legends game earlier this year.
It will, however, be interesting to see how he gets on with I’m a Celebrity star Angry Ginge, as they are on the same team.
CHALOBAH’S LONG GAME
TREVOH Chalobah dreams of playing into his 40’s, like Cristiano Ronaldo and a certain Champions League-winning Chelsea legend.
Chalobah revealed: “I see Thiago SIlva – who’s still playing – and how he’s looking after his body, what he does for recovery.
“Then I was watching the interview with Ronaldo as well, when he was saying that however long he trains is however long he does his recovery.
“So if he trains two hours, he does two hours of recovery.
“That’s what I try to follow.
“As a defender, I want to be playing – like Thiago Silva – until my forties.
“For me longevity is important and it’s good that I know it now rather than later.
“That’s why everything I do is not just for now but for the future.”
For the interview feature in the Aston Villa matchday programme, Chalobah arrived holding a copy of “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity” by Dr Peter Attia.
Published in 2023, it is said to be one of five books recommended by Ronaldo.
Chalobah is certainly going the extra mile this season. The England defender has played the third most Premier League minutes of any Chelsea player – 1,472 – behind only Robert Sanchez (1,535) and Marc Cucurella (1,507).
And Chalobah has made one fewer appearances, because of his suspension for his red card against Brighton.
MAGIC OF BLUES
LEVI Colwill made his first appearance of the season at Stamford Bridge – as part of Chelsea’s Christmas charity work.
Injured defender Colwill took time off from recovering from his ACL injury to attend a festive lunch during The Magic of Blue campaign.
Colwill joined more than 500 guests at the Bridge and learned about the importance of the work which will be funded by activities coordinated by the Chelsea Foundation throughout December.
The Magic of Blues raised at least £80,000 to support Age UK, Shepherd’s Star and other local organisations in efforts to combat loneliness among pensioners and adults facing hardship in the community.
Colwill said: “The best way for people suffering this winter is to talk.
“I know it’s easier said than done because myself I have been struggling with loneliness for the four or five months of my injury and I’ve had the best people around me, but yet it’s tough to talk.
“To get things off your chest is huge and can help in so many ways, so that would be my advice.”
During The Magic of Blue campaign, more than 3,200 gifts of blankets, warm clothes, puzzles and other items were donated, many through drop-off points at home games for the men’s and women’s teams.
Chelsea staff and fans volunteered a combined total of more than 420 hours.