Fans with Chelsea tickets will bid goodbye to another eventful Premier League season, hoping that the 2024/25 run will be a turnaround after their team’s impressive comeback in the last few weeks of the League.
It was a mismatch of a season for the Blues, who were initially struggling despite the millions spent on transfers. But for most of the fans with Chelsea tickets, it feels like there are good things coming their way in the next few seasons.
Cole Palmer, a true driving force in the team, has instilled a renewed belief in the fans that the Blues are still in the game. His contributions have been instrumental in the team’s success.
It was only fitting that the youngster got the Young Player of the Year award.
Breakthrough Player of the Year – Cole Palmer
Cole Palmer’s outstanding season, with accomplishments that often come with qualifiers like “not since Eden Hazard” or “not since Frank Lampard,” was recognized when he was awarded the Premier League Young Player of the Season award.
Palmer was the first Chelsea player to win this since Eden Hazard in 20113-2014. Hazard’s was the PFA version since the Premier League only started handing this out a few years ago. And Hazard already had five full seasons under his belt in France and England. Palmer’s a true rookie.
Undoubtedly, Palmer’s season has been exceptional by any standard. With an impressive 32 goal involvements (22 goals, 10 assists) in just 33 games, he has had a truly outstanding debut season. This is a testament to his potential and the impact he can make in the future.
And (presumably) he’s only just getting started. If his career keeps emulating the likes of Hazard and Lampard, we’re in for some tremendous fun.
Pochettino Banks of Continuity
Despite the disappointing start, fans with Chelsea tickets will be happy that their club finished 5th overall and qualified for European Football.
And manager Mauricio Pochettino is now stressing continuity in the momentum.
Mauricio Pochettino feels continuity will be essential for Chelsea ahead of his second season in charge, ruling out the prospect of another clear-out at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea clinched European qualification on Sunday, the final day of the Premier League season. A 2-1 win over Bournemouth ensured they beat Newcastle United and Manchester United to sixth place.
The Blues finished the campaign with five straight victories, the first time they have achieved that feat since doing so in March 2022 under Thomas Tuchel.
A positive end to Pochettino’s debut campaign has quietened talk of his job being threatened, and he wants to see evolution rather than revolution ahead of 2024-25.
“Does the club need new signings? Always, you can improve,” Pochettino said after Sunday’s victory.
“They will be much better next season because they will have one year of experience, a challenging experience.
More Transfers for Chelsea?
Chelsea will push ahead and try to strengthen in four positions in the summer window despite lingering financial fair play concerns.
With the new acquisition, Chelsea eventually spent over 1 billion pounds on players under the Todd Boehly-led consortium.
The club made a pre-tax loss of 1 billion1 million in the year up to June 30, following a loss of £121.4m in the previous year’s accounts.
Everton and Nottingham Forest have also violated the rules, which allow clubs to lose £105m over three years. Chelsea increased its turnover to £512.5m in the last set of accounts and is confident heading into the off-season, when it is set to be busy in the summer transfer window again.
Sources close to the Blues add that they are trying to sign a forward, a left-back, a center-back, and a goalkeeper. Co-owners Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have given a vote of confidence to sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, who will now lead the search for new players despite facing criticism from supporters.
They will work with the newly appointed director of global recruitment, Sam Jewell, who recently started his role after joining from Brighton. The report states that while Winstanley and Stewart have been assured of their positions, head coach Mauricio Pochettino still awaits his fate in an end-of-season review.
Chelsea have won three successive matches to move up to seventh in the Premier League, level on points with Newcastle with two games left. Pochettino has faced uncertainty over his future, and a strong finish to the campaign could ensure a stay of execution for the Argentine.
“I am thinking long term and thinking for a life here,” Pochettino said after the 3-2 win over Forest. “We are working because we are professional, thinking about winning games and trying to make the owners happy and the staff, players, and fans happy. I had an honest conversation in the press conference. To clarify, we can continue if the owner is happy with my job.”
If he does keep his job, Pochettino can expect his squad to be overhauled in the summer. A new striker to support Nicolas Jackson is an obvious need for the squad, which has been hindered by Christopher Nkunku’s injury-hit campaign.
Jackson has scored 17 times in 42 games this season after being signed for £30m from Villarreal last summer, but he has been inconsistent in front of goal.
Chelsea also wants to sign a central defender to replace the outgoing Thiago Silva and a left-sided defender to provide competition for the injury-prone Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella.
The £25m signing of Robert Sanchez from Brighton last summer hasn’t worked out, with the £14m addition Djordje Petrovic starting ahead of him.
The Blues must sell to fund another spending spree, with homegrown players like Armando Broja, Trevoh Chalobah, Conor Gallagher, and Ian Maatsen particularly valuable in that respect.
Despite the odd-ended season, fans with Chelsea tickets still believe that Pochettino will be the right fit to lead the club to the next season. With a proven track record, Pochettino has shown that he has achieved results with time.
Sure, this season wasn’t the best, but finishing 5th after getting pushed beyond 10th place halfway through the season is commendable.