Chelsea 2021/22 preview: Transfers, key player, fixtures, new kits, prediction & more
By Tom Gott
With Champions League and Super Cup glory already under their belt, Chelsea will be looking to keep the good times rolling under Thomas Tuchel when the 2021/22 season gets underway.
Having seen the level this squad is capable of reaching, Chelsea's goal this season is clear - win the Premier League. It's for that reason that Roman Abramovich is digging deep into his pockets once again, luring Romelu Lukaku back from Inter with a cool £97.5m.
The Blues have now added a bona-fide superstar striker, which is the one thing they were lacking last season, and fans are now expecting some big things from this new season.
Transfers
In: Marcus Bettinelli (free), Romelu Lukaku (£97.5m)
Out: Fikayo Tomori (£25m), Victor Moses (£4m), Olivier Giroud (£1m), Marc Guehi (£18m), Valentino Livramento (£5m), Billy Gilmour (loan), Armando Broja (loan)
First-team squad
1. Kepa Arrizabalaga
2. Antonio Rudiger
3. Marcos Alonso
4. Andreas Christensen
5. Jorginho
6. Thiago Silva
7. N'Golo Kante
8. Mateo Kovacic
9. Tammy Abraham
10. Christian Pulisic
11. Timo Werner
12. Ruben Loftus-Cheek
13. Marcus Bettinelli
14. Trevoh Chalobah
15. Kurt Zouma
16. Edouard Mendy
19. Mason Mount
20. Callum Hudson-Odoi
21. Ben Chilwell
22. Hakim Ziyech
24. Reece James
27. Tino Anjorin
28. Cesar Azpilicueta
29. Kai Havertz
33. Emerson
36. Lucas Bergstrom
44. Ethan Ampadu
Key player
If Chelsea are going to win the Premier League this season, they're going to need a big performance from new man Lukaku. The Belgian bagged 24 league goals last season - for comparison, Chelsea's top scorer was Jorginho with seven.
Lukaku is still actually looking for his first Chelsea goal, having drawn a blank in his 15 previous outings for the club, but there is reason to believe he might just end that drought in pretty emphatic fashion this year.
On top of his goals, Lukaku will also be tasked with linking up with fellow key names like Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Mason Mount, all of whom are expected to be more among the goals now that Lukaku is here.
Young player to watch
Seeing Trevoh Chalobah start the Super Cup victory over Villarreal came as a bit of a surprise, but 22-year-old defender ended up being a large part of the reason that Chelsea came home with the trophy.
The likeliest outcome for Chalobah is a loan move, with Valencia understood to be keen, but Tuchel is clearly a fan and could yet opt to keep the academy graduate around for the coming season.
Fixtures
Live TV broadcasts have been chosen for games up to the end of October, other dates and/or kick-off times after that point remain subject to change.
14 August 2021 - 15:00 - Chelsea vs Crystal Palace
22 August 2021 - 16:30 - Arsenal vs Chelsea (Sky Sports)
28 August 2021 - 17:30 - Liverpool vs Chelsea (Sky Sports)
19 September 2021 - 16:30 - Tottenham vs Chelsea (Sky Sports)
25 September 2021 - 12:30 - Chelsea vs Manchester City (BT Sport)
2 October 2021 - 15:00 - Chelsea vs Southampton
16 October 2021 - 17:30 - Brentford vs Chelsea (Sky Sports)
23 October 2021 - 12:30 - Chelsea vs Norwich (BT Sport)
30 October 2021 - 15:00 - Newcastle vs Chelsea
6 November 2021 - 15:00 - Chelsea vs Burnley
20 November 2021 - 15:00 - Leicester vs Chelsea
27 November 2021 - 15:00 - Chelsea vs Manchester United
30 November 2021 - 19:45 - Watford vs Chelsea
4 December 2021 - 15:00 - West Ham vs Chelsea
11 December 2021 - 15:00 - Chelsea vs Leeds
15 December 2021 - 20:00 - Chelsea vs Everton
18 December 2021 - 15:00 - Wolves vs Chelsea
26 December 2021 - 15:00 - Aston Villa vs Chelsea
28 December 2021 - 15:00 - Chelsea vs Brighton
1 January 2022 - 15:00 - Chelsea vs Liverpool
15 January 2022 - 15:00 - Manchester City vs Chelsea
22 January 2022 - 15:00 - Chelsea vs Tottenham
8 February 2022 - 19:45 - Brighton vs Chelsea
12 February 2022 - 15:00 - Chelsea vs Arsenal
19 February 2022 - 15:00 - Crystal Palace vs Chelsea
26 February 2022 - 15:00 - Chelsea vs Leicester
5 March 2022 - 15:00 - Burnley vs Chelsea
12 March 2022 - 15:00 - Chelsea vs Newcastle
19 March 2022 - 15:00 - Norwich vs Chelsea
2 April 2022 - 15:00 - Chelsea vs Brentford
9 April 2022 - 15:00 - Southampton vs Chelsea
16 April 2022 - 15:00 - Leeds vs Chelsea
23 April 2022 - 15:00 - Chelsea vs West Ham
30 April 2022 - 15:00 - Everton vs Chelsea
7 May 2022 - 15:00 - Chelsea vs Wolves
15 May 2022 - 15:00 - Manchester United vs Chelsea
22 May 2022 - 16:00 - Chelsea vs Watford
Kits
Home: Inspired by both the colours and the patterns of the 1960s. Pretty divisive among fans.
Away: Bringing back the old school yellow. Like a Borussia Dortmund tribute act.
Third: TBC
Prediction
We'll know a lot about this Chelsea side around the start of the season and in January, when the Blues will face almost all of their direct rivals in two gruelling blocks of fixtures.
Under Tuchel, Chelsea have proven capable of beating those big boys - he's already beaten Pep Guardiola and Man City three times - but there are still a handful of concerns over how they'll deal with a low block. Just how much of an impact with Lukaku have?
With the Belgian leading the line, Chelsea should expect a deep run in Europe and a serious challenge for domestic silverware, but they still have a little more to prove before you can confidently say they have enough to get over the line.
2nd in the Premier League, Champions League semi-final, domestic cup win.