Without an international tournament, the off-season did not seem to last long. With the extended internationals stretching into mid-June, the intrigue surrounding Chelsea's change of ownership, and transfer rumors, the start of pre-season has arrived quickly.
Thomas Tuchel's squad will travel to Goodison Park a month from today for Chelsea's first Premier League match of the 2022/23 season against Everton.
Chelsea's dreadful record at Everton was aided by a 1-0 loss in April, which proved to be a crucial three points for Frank Lampard in the Toffees' survival bid. The tension surrounding both clubs will be greatly reduced next month, but the intrigue will remain.
Tuchel has returned to Cobham with his players, who have returned from their summer vacations, to enjoy the Surrey sunshine before jetting off to Los Angeles for the first stop on a busy tour of the United States. By the final pre-season match against Arsenal in Orlando, we should have a better idea of who will start.
There is not only the possibility of new signings, with Raheem Sterling and Matthijs de Ligt being major targets this summer, but also the possibility of further squad exits, loans, and perhaps an unexpected breakthrough similar to the one Trevoh Chalobah experienced a year ago.
It appears foolish to pen any potential Chelsea team given that the club has not officially signed anyone at the time of writing, but let's try anyway and revisit after the Everton game.
Tuchel appeared to like the current formation in the final press conference of last season, citing other reasons for the Blues' failure last season when asked about a potential switch.
"I don't think we have a structure problem because we delivered at a very high level with our performances in this structure." Tuchel stated. "It's not in the plan to change it, but we may be forced to." It is not difficult to adapt and find solutions; the issue is that we are forced to be passive, which is undesirable.
I've added Sterling and De Ligt to last season's formation, Ben Chilwell and Reece James start together as wingbacks for the first time since November 2021, and Kai Havertz leads the attack.
But let's take a chance on the second formation prediction. Tuchel's approach to improving an underwhelming attack will be a recurring theme in the 2022/23 season. Some of this is due to recruitment, with Sterling and Raphinha being targeted, while Hakim Ziyech appears to be joining Romelu Lukaku on a season loan in Milan.
Should the Dutchman sign from Juventus, I've gone with a back-two of Thiago Silva and De Ligt, with Sterling playing a wider attacking role and one of Callum Hudson-Odoi or Christian Pulisic getting more minutes. Overall, it appears to be a 4-3-3 that could be more of a 4-2-3-1 given Mason Mount's central role, which is similar to one he's previously played in a 3-4-1-2 for Tuchel.
Conor Gallagher thrived at Selhurst Park from the right of a midfield trio and provided a consistent goal threat, something Chelsea has lacked in that area for several years.
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