Chelsea 2023/24 season preview: Key players, summer transfers, squad numbers & predictions

Chelsea will look to right the wrongs of last season when the 2023/24 campaign gets underway.

High hopes from last summer quickly evaporated as Chelsea went through four managers en route to recording their worst-ever Premier League finish, and now it really is make-or-break for the new owners as they look to rebuild confidence among fans.

To try and put things right, Chelsea have hired Mauricio Pochettino, continued their heavy spending and even bought an entirely new club, adding Ligue 1's Strasbourg to the new BlueCo network. It all sounds good, but it all sounded good last year as well.

Here's 90min's preview of Chelsea's 2023/24 season.

Chelsea's performance last five seasons

Summer transfers

Ins:

• Christopher Nkunku (FW) - RB Leipzig - £52m
• Axel Disasi (DF) - Monaco - £38.7m
• Nicolas Jackson (FW) - Villarreal - £31.8m
• Lesley Ugochukwu (MF) - Rennes - £23.1m
• Angelo (FW) - Santos - £13m
• Robert Sanchez (GK) - Brighton - £25m
• Diego Moreira (FW) - Benfica - free

Outs:

• Kai Havertz - Arsenal - £65m
• Mason Mount - Manchester United - £60m
• Mateo Kovacic - Manchester City - £25m
• Kalidou Koulibaly - Al Hilal - £17m
• Christian Pulisic - AC Milan - £20m
• Edouard Mendy - Al Ahli - £16m
• Ruben Loftus-Cheek - AC Milan - £15m
• Ethan Ampadu - Leeds United - £7m
• N'Golo Kante - Al Ittihad - free
• Cesar Azpilicueta - Atletico Madrid - free
• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Marseille - free
• David Datro Fofana - Union Berlin - loan
• Tiemoue Bakayoko - released

Squad numbers

*Numbers subject to change before end of transfer window

Key players

Star player

Christopher Nkunku's knee surgery, which will keep him out until December at the earliest, will undoubtedly limit the Frenchman's impact in his debut season, but one player who should be fit and raring to go is Reece James.

The right-back, when fit, is among the finest in the world in his position, and the desire to set the record straight will be felt stronger by James than almost anyone else. He may even be handed the captain's armband as Chelsea head into a new era.

Defensive stability is a must for Chelsea this season, but if James can rediscover his best attacking form as well, he'll be almost unstoppable.

One to watch

With John Terry's famous number 26 on his back, this is set to be an enormous season for young Levi Colwill.

Colwill is widely regarded as one of the game's best young centre-backs and, after a stellar loan with Brighton, is now ready to explode on to the scene with Chelsea, where he signed a new six-year contract and claimed one of the most iconic shirt numbers in club history.

Pochettino loves Colwill, and rightly so. The 20-year-old is elite and, should all go to plan, he's about to prove it.

2023/24 kits

Home kit

Away kit

Chelsea's 2023/24 away kit has not yet been released.

Third kit

Chelsea's third kit has not yet been released.

Premier League prediction

Chelsea will surely not be as bad as last season, right?

The Blues have brought in a top-level coach and undergone a major squad overhaul to try and ensure they are back to being competitive as soon as possible, and while Premier League glory may well remain a step too far, expect Chelsea to reclaim their place in the top-four battle.

They may not actually get there, such is the elite quality at the top end of the Premier League, but Chelsea should be a team who incite fear in their opponents once again.

Chelsea 2023/24 Premier League prediction - 5th

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