Understandably rankled by Chelsea's lack of business in the January transfer window, the Premier League outfit are seemingly moving quickly to get Frank Lampard's business done before the current season has even finished.
Less than a month after the January window had closed, Chelsea announced a shock deal for Ajax sensation Hakim Ziyech to arrive in the summer. Now, on the eve of the Premier League season restarting, it has emerged Chelsea are on the cusp of landing RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner.
Chelsea don't even know what European competition they will be in next season but they are doubling down and going big to back Lampard, who was unable to sign players last summer due to a FIFA-imposed transfer ban.
Werner has developed into one of the most sought after strikers in Europe this season but after holding out on a move to Liverpool, the Germany international has reportedly agreed to join Chelsea instead.
Lampard's side are expected to pay in the region of £50m for his services following their £33.3m outlay on Ziyech. Chelsea do not intend to stop there, with Leicester's Ben Chilwell reportedly next on the list. Should Lampard get his way, Chelsea will also sign another goalkeeper to replace an underperforming Kepa. Ajax's Andre Onana, Borussia Dortmund's Roman Burki and Manchester United loan star Dean Henderson have previously been mooted as potential targets.
With so much business being conducted at this stage, it provides an early indication of how Chelsea could set up next season. Lampard has clearly pinpointed the main areas of concern within his Chelsea squad and the club are moving to resolve them. Here are two potential ways Lampard could set Chelsea up next season.
4-3-3
Frank Lampard certainly hasn't been afraid to change formation during his first year as Chelsea boss but his default system, as it was as Derby in 2018/19, is 4-3-3. He has started 15 of Chelsea's 29 Premier League matches in that shape but the arrivals of Ziyech and Werner will impact those already claiming spaces in it.
With Willian and Pedro set to leave on free transfers this summer, Ziyech should naturally slot in on the right wing but Werner's arrival, under the promise of guaranteed first-team minutes, will have a direct consequence on Tammy Abraham's future. Werner is capable of playing from the left but it would make sense to play your marquee signing in their best position.
At the start of the season many felt Tammy Abraham was not ready or capable to lead the line for a club of Chelsea's status. Sandwiched between prolific loan spells with Bristol City and Aston Villa in the Championship was a less-than-impressive stint in the Premier League with Swansea. With five goals in 31 league games for Swansea in 2017/18, there were understandably reservations whether he was up to the task of playing for Chelsea. To a large degree, he has proved many wrong. His first four league starts yielded seven goals, including a hat-trick away to Wolves. He has 13 for the season, which in many ways is underwhelming when you consider he was on seven so quickly after the campaign started.
Werner, meanwhile, recently celebrated his third league hat-trick of the season and has 25 goals in the Bundesliga. Regardless of Lampard's belief in Abraham's ability, Werner represents a huge upgrade and transforms the threat of Chelsea's attack. With that in mind, it leaves promising young duo Callum Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic to battle for the final spot, both of whom are coming off extremely poor campaigns.
The midfield three will continue to be contested between Mason Mount, Jorginho, N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic, with Ross Barkley's future uncertain. Cesar Azpilcueta and Antonio Rudiger are expected to be mainstays in defence, though Reece James is emerging to challenge the former at right-back. Another promising young English talent, Fikayo Tomori, will hope to nail down as Rudiger's centre-back partner.
It's reported Chelsea will turn their attention to signing Chilwell once the Werner deal is wrapped up and the England international would certainly add another dimension to Chelsea's offensive play. Chilwell's acceleration and direct running is arguably his greatest asset and that could prove a real weapon next season. One of Ziyech's best traits is a long diagonal ball over the defence from right to left. If Chelsea's left winger is capable of coming inside and dragging the full-back with him, then Chilwell should have acres of space to bomb into.
4-3-1-2 / 4-2-2-2
Chelsea are of course not limited to one formation and you'd expect Lampard to mix things throughout the season as he has done this term. Abraham was already stalling on a new deal before Chelsea moved for Werner and it would only be natural to question your future when your manager spends a lot of money on someone that plays in the same position. Werner's arrival isn't necessarily a bad thing for Abarham, however.
As RB Leipzig have found this season, Werner has been prolific when partnered up with an imposing striker. In Leipzig's case it's Yussuf Poulsen or Patrik Schick and Lampard may lean on that tactic to partner Abraham with Werner at times next season. With Abraham's physicality keeping defenders occupied, it should free up room for Werner to exploit. A potential issue that may arise from this partnership is whether Abraham accepts a support role to get the best out of someone else. It may mean the 22-year-old scores fewer goals.
Unless Lampard sacrifices an extra central midfielder, it's likely Chelsea will play without wingers if Werner and Abraham start together, as Leipzig do. Fortunately for Lampard, it doesn't mean Ziyech, his other summer signing, suffers. While predominantly a winger, Ziyech can also operate centrally.
For those that even forgot Chelsea signed Ziyech, it's worth remembering this is a player that has finished each of the last four Eredivisie campaigns as the WhoScored Player of the Season. Ziyech played a direct hand in 92 goals in 116 league appearances in that time and garnered a startling WhoScored rating of 8.18. Having proven his quality in the Champions League this season, even to Chelsea in the group stage, there is less of a feeling he will struggle to make the transition between Eredivisie and Premier League as others, like Alireza Jahanbakhsh recently, have.
Behind that front three will be the same competition of Kovacic, Mount, Jorginho and Kante battling for three spots, though Mount or Kovacic would likely play higher than the base two of Jorginho and Kante. That four-way battle may yet change further as Jorginho and Kante have both been linked with summer moves away themselves and any outgoings will require another signing.
Even though there is still so much for Chelsea to play for this season, they are certainly shaping up to be a formidable outfit in 2020/21.
