Chelsea are not the juggernaut they once were but there are hopes that former glory can be restored under Enzo Maresca, who is ready to take on the Premier League at Stamford Bridge.
Admittedly, pre-season preparations have encountered snags and setbacks in the form of high-scoring losses against Manchester City and Celtic and previously a 2-2 draw against Wrexham to kickstart their United States tour.
The Blues were never going to adopt the possession-centric style without raising some questions but defensive fragility and a perceived lack of organisation across the past several weeks will not have been welcomed as simply part and parcel of pre-season.
03/08/2024
vs Man City
4-2 loss
01/08/2024
vs Club America
3-0 win
27/08/2024
vs Celtic
4-1 loss
25/08/2024
vs Wrexham
2-2 draw
No, Chelsea must of course trust the process, but that tactical undertaking needs to enter third or fourth gear within the coming fortnight, and some added impetus in attack might go down a treat.
Chelsea transfer news
As per Football Insider, Chelsea have learned that Manchester City's Julian Alvarez will be available for £70m this summer, amid ongoing chatter around the versatile forward's future.
Alvarez, 24, is struggling with his at-times utility role at the club and would seemingly jump at the chance to move, so it now remains to be seen whether Chelsea can negotiate a deal.
The west Londoners have a healthy mix of attacking options but could benefit from a player of Alvarez's talent and winning pedigree, perhaps swaying the odds in the bid to return to the Champions League and hunt down silverware.
Why Chelsea want Julian Alvarez
With Arsenal also sniffing around, Todd Boehly and Co know that swift action could hold sway, lest the Gunners get their own back concerning a recent transfer history of hijacked deals.
On January deadline day, 2022, Alvarez signed for City from River Plate in Argentina for a fee in the region of £14m, proving to be a shrewd signing indeed for a player who is now among the finest in the Premier League.
Across 103 matches under Pep Guardiola's management, the dynamo has posted 36 goals and 18 assists, with his performances earning him praise for his unwavering consistency – pundit Owen Hargreaves has even said that he's "never seen him have a bad game."
Oh, of course, the accolades have come in hordes, but Alvarez has reached a point in his career where he wants his giddy quality to match the standing in the squad. Despite playing regularly and completing the set under his Spanish boss, the £100k-per-week star yearns for a role of greater significance.
His two campaigns in Greater Manchester have acted as an illustrious teething period of sorts, but now is the time for Alvarez to be handed a platform at the top of the squad's pyramid, Chelsea can offer that platform.
His dynamism and electrifying qualities on the ball could even see him perform as Maresca's very own version of Kai Havertz, who plays for the Blues no more.
Maresca's own Kai Havertz
Havertz has divided opinion since arriving in England, signing for Chelsea in a £76m transfer from Bayer Leverkusen four years ago, scoring the Blues' winning goal to win the Champions League but finishing his stay at Stamford Bridge with only 32 strikes across 139 matches.
Making the cross-London switch to Arsenal last summer, the German has gone from strength to strength and has formed into a coherent and effective threat under Mikel Arteta, scoring nine goals and supplying six assists over the final 14 matches of the top-flight term.
The 25-year-old's tactical fluidity has seen him operate across myriad positions, with the Gunners deploying him as a thrusting type of midfielder earlier in the campaign before returning him to the top of the pitch, where he found his Midas touch.
With Alvarez, Chelsea could emulate this impact, for the Man City sensation has also played up and down the pitch in England and has the potency in attack to make a marked improvement on the side's offensive fluency.
And if he knows one thing, it's how to make an impact. Over the past year, as per FBref, Alvarez ranks among the top 6% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues for goals scored and the top 15% for assists per 90.
Matches (starts)
36 (31)
37 (30)
Goals
11
13
Assists
9
7
Shots taken*
2.7
1.9
Big chances missed
10
13
Touches*
45.3
37.1
Pass completion
88%
81%
Big chances created
7
8
Key passes*
1.9
1.2
Ball recoveries*
2.7
3.3
Dribbles completed*
0.6
0.4
The Argentine World Cup winner also offers skills similar to Havertz's while proving to be more technically crisp and creative – a product of his learning under Guardiola and something that could see him thrive in the new Chelsea system.
Alvarez would want to nail down a regular role at Chelsea, as is his desire as he considers leaving the world's most imperious outfit, but he could find that under Maresca.
With Conor Gallagher in the process of being sold to Atletico Madrid, Alvarez could adopt the advanced position behind the centre-forward – almost a Havertz-like false 9 of sorts – bolstered by the deep-lying orchestrating of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo's tough tackling.
Guardiola has actually said that he's "almost undroppable" in the past – which is rather lofty praise from a man known for constant tinkering and tweaking.
Whether Chelsea wish to part with a hefty sum to bring Alvarez in remains to be seen, but he could be the perfect figure to perform at the summit of the midfield triangle and ensure that the club rise to the fore at the start of a new, exciting era.
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