Assessing Chelsea’s latest new-look frontline
Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens and João Pedro have all joined Chelsea to revamp Enzo Maresca’s forward line ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
In order of how much they cost, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Pedro Neto, Christopher Nkunku, Raheem Sterling, João Félix, Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke and Marc Guiu have all pitched up at Stamford Bridge over the last three seasons to strengthen Chelsea’s attack. And yet the Blues have once again revamped their forward line this summer.
Undeterred by the hundreds of millions already poured into the attacking ranks, Chelsea have spent another £170m on Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens and João Pedro with Brazilian wonderkid Estêvão also set to join the club later this summer. Enzo Maresca will start next season with a completely different forward line.
He needed a completely different forward line. Last season, Chelsea averaged the third-highest share of possession per match in the Premier League behind only Manchester City and Liverpool. This hinted at the level of control Maresca wants his side to have and Chelsea certainly had a stronger foothold on the ball last term.
Too often, though, this control failed to translate into attacking threat. In a creative sense, Chelsea were productive enough, creating the second-most Big Chances in the Premier League last season behind only Liverpool. They also had the joint second-highest Expected Goals (xG), once again behind only the champions.
In terms of actual goals, however, Chelsea lagged a long way behind some of their rivals, netting just 64 times in 38 games. For context, Liverpool scored 86 and Manchester City registered 72. Brentford, who finished 10th, scored more goals than Maresca’s team who were frequently predictable to play against.
‘Maresca-ball’ was criticised for this. While Chelsea’s possession numbers were impressive last season, the way they used possession was scrutinised. They didn’t have enough dynamism in the attacking third to make the most of their control of the ball and this has informed the business done at Stamford Bridge so far this summer.
Gittens should be a good fit for Maresca’s team. The Italian likes his wingers to stay high and wide from where they are expected to take on opposition defenders. Gittens, who attempted more dribbles than any other player in the Bundesliga last season, has the skill set to be the wide difference-maker Chelsea need.
There are questions over Gittens final product. He will have to lift his goalscoring numbers to truly be the sort of player capable of pushing Chelsea closer to the Premier League title, but the potential is clear in the Manchester City academy graduate. Maresca’s set-up could harness Gittens as he takes the next step in his development.
Pedro also ticks a box for Chelsea. The Brazilian has earned a reputation as one of the most adaptable and versatile players in the Premier League over the last two seasons at Brighton. He will bring the sort of cohesion Chelsea sometimes lacked last season and has the technical ability to play ‘Maresca-ball’ while possessing the physicality to give the Blues something different.
Chelsea want Pedro to be the player they thought Nkunku would be. There is a lot of overlap between the two attackers’ skill set. Nkunku is also versatile. He is similarly adept from a technical point of view. Pedro, however, is more explosive and reached double figures for goals in the Premier League last season.
As an all-round attacker, there’s plenty to like about Pedro’s game. He registered more assists than any other Brighton player last season and also had the highest xG per 90 minutes of within Fabian Hürzeler’s squad. Whether it was as a centre forward, a second striker or a winger, Pedro is a consistent threat.
Delap has had a month-long head start on his attacking peers who have made the move to Stamford Bridge this summer with the 22-year-old already performing for Chelsea at the Club World Cup. Delap has made a good first impression at the tournament, particularly with Nicolas Jackson suspended for a second red card in four games going back to the end of last season.
Of the three players to have arrived at Stamford Bridge in the last month, Delap might have the largest leap to make to be the figure Chelsea need him to be. At Ipswich Town, he effectively led the line for a team that gave him very little service. That he scored 12 goals in these circumstances was extremely impressive. Chelsea, however, will demand more.
Maresca is at an early crossroads in his Chelsea tenure. Last season saw the Italian put in place foundations, but he must now build more on top of that basis for the Blues to enjoy a successful 2025/26 campaign. Delap, Gittens and Pedro, and possibly Estêvão, have been signed to help make this happen.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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