Defence Is Chelsea’s Biggest Area of Concern Ahead of 2016/17 Season

With the new Premier League season almost upon us for Antonio Conte and Chelsea, we’re seeing the Blues squad come together.

The new manager has been at the club since mid-July, and he’s seen enough to allow him to make decisions with conviction. Note that until Papy Djilobodji’s £8 million transfer to Sunderland on Friday, no permanent transfers out of Stamford Bridge had been made on Conte’s watch.

We’re beginning to witness the Italian allow more of the players he’s worked with in the past few weeks to depart, whether that be on loan or permanently.

Djilibodji was the start; with Matt Miazga and Kenedy not traveling to Germany for Sunday’s pre-season friendly with Werder Bremen, it’s expected that pair will also be moving away from Stamford Bridge shortly.

It’s loan moves that are likely for them, with their relative inexperience needing to built upon if they are to make the grade. Given the potential they have shown—Kenedy especially—there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be feeling confident about their Chelsea futures.

Where Conte shouldn’t be feeling confident is defensively, as beyond his starting rearguard, he has nothing. We’re not suggesting Chelsea’s back-up players aren’t up to task or criticising their quality; it’s a case of Conte having no tested players beyond Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic and John Terry.

Of the 23 players who traveled to Bremen, just six were defenders. Outside of that aforementioned quartet, the other two were Ola Aina and Michael Hector. Aina is yet to make a competitive first-team appearance in Chelsea colours, while up until the end of last season, Hector was part of a struggling Reading team in the Championship.

That doesn’t breed an air of authority from where Chelsea stand. For a club hoping to strike back in the Premier League after their failures last season, it’s a far from ideal position.

Work in progress…