Chelsea’s disastrous 2015-2016 has been put to bed and the London club has now trusted Antonio Conte to bring the Blues back to Premier League glory.
Conte is currently in France for the Euro and is wrapping up his time for the Italian national team, which could end as soon as soon as Monday when the Azzurri take on defending champions Spain.
The Stamford Bridge club’s core players underperformed last season under Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink so once Conte gets to London you can be assured that there will be some wholesale changes in the transfer window.
Here is next season’s possible lineup for Chelsea under Antonio Conte –
Goalkeeper
Thibaut Courtois recently had a strong match against the Republic of Ireland and the Belgian keeper will hope his solid play can translate back to the Premier League.
The 24-year-old remains one of the best keepers in the league and is still young enough to fulfill his potential and possibly become one of the world’s best under Conte.
Defence
Cesar Azpilicueta is currently in demand and is being linked with some of the Spanish giants but he was one of the few that had a solid season despite the turmoil last year and Conte should keep him. The Spaniard will feature as the right wing back while young Nathan Ake, who made 28 appearances for Watford while on loan, may feature as the left wing back.
Branislav Ivanovic and John Terry have been long serving members of Chelsea and they’ll be joined with Kurt Zouma as the three center backs in the Italian’s compact defence. Ivanovic certainly struggled on the right last season but once he moves back into his preferred center back role, the wise Serbian should flourish once again as he’ll have the solid Terry providing cover.
Midfield
Nemanja Matic has been consistently been linked with Mourinho since the Portuguese manager took over for Louis van Gaal, however, the strong Serbian is a sturdy presence and would unquestionably still be valuable as the defensive midfielder.
The midfield starts to get interesting and it’s where Willian and Paul Pogba will be present. Current midfielder Cesc Fabregas has been considering a move away from the club and a player of Pogba’s caliber would be an ideal replacement for the Spanish international.
Attack
Eden Hazard was one of the biggest flops last season after he produced a magical year in the title winning campaign but he’ll be back and play as a center forward in Conte’s two-man attack.
Diego Costa has reportedly been keen to return to Atletico Madrid, as a result of this, the Blues should make the move and sign Alvaro Morata, whom Real Madrid just bought back from Juventus.
(5-3-2)
Via – Lineup Builder
