How Chelsea will line up with Sterling, Koulibaly and Ake

Stuart Telford

Updated: 13 Jul 2022 11:23 CDT
3 min read

Nathan Ake, Manchester City, 2021/22 — © ProShots

The Todd Boehly era at Chelsea is well underway, with Raheem Sterling signed from Manchester City and his team-mate Nathan Ake, as well as Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly, expected to follow in short order.

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It represents a significant outlay for the new regime, but it was a minimum requirement for coach Thomas Tuchel who last week described Chelsea's summer transfer business as "rebuilding" rather than "improving".

Tuchel: Up for the challenge

"We are rebuilding, not improving the squad," the German tactician told Football London. "We are rebuilding. This is always challenging, but we are up for the challenge.

"I don't know where we are from day one. What I can promise is that I will be here - if I can promise that - I will be here with full energy and positive energy no matter what. We will still work for Chelsea, and I refuse to think of negative scenarios. We will be competitive, on which level we will see."

Tuchel's appraisal is understandable. While Romelu Lukaku made a headline-grabbing return to Inter Milan this summer, it is the free transfer losses of centre-backs Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen - to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively - that will sting the most.

Chelsea's summer arrivals plug some important gaps.

Koulibaly and Ake will line up either side of Thiago Silva in Chelsea's preferred back three. Napoli normally played with a back four last season, but the presence of Senegal international team-mate Edouard Mendy in goal behind him should help him settle into the new system quickly.

For the left-footed Ake, playing on the left of a back three - something he often does on international duty with the Netherlands - in familiar surroundings, shouldn't be too much of a stretch. He only featured in 14 Premier League games last term, but still averaged some of the best passing, carrying and heading statistics per 90 minutes league-wide.

Most of the rest of Chelsea's best possible XI would already have been the envy of most other Premier League teams, but there was work to do in the final third, with Lukaku and unmitigated disaster and Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner all flattering to deceive.

Pulisic has been linked with a return to Borussia Dortmund and a transfer to Juventus in recent weeks, while Ziyech is on the cusp of securing a season-long loan to AC Milan - provided Chelsea can stump up some of his €6m a season salary.

With Havertz given chance to hit his prime unhindered, and Mason Mount already operating at an elite level for the Blues, Sterling is the perfect addition to their final third. Unhappy with his minutes at City last season, he still plundered 17 goals and nine assists in all competitions last season, and Chelsea are getting an elite operator who is somehow still only 27.