Chelsea continue to show a real statement of intent this transfer window, imminently adding Kai Havertz to their already bolstered ranks; with Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell already joining the blues earlier this summer. I’m sure Chelsea fans, as well as English football fans in general, will be excited to watch a new-look Chelsea this season and I’m going to shed some light on what to expect from the summer signings, particularly from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective.
Timo Werner
Timo Werner joined Chelsea for £47.70 million from Red Bull Leipzig in July. He is Germany’s leading number 9 but enjoys making runs into the channels with his blistering pace and strong dribbling. The German scored 28 times in the Bundesliga this season, whilst also contributing 8 assists - by far his strongest campaign to-date. He also notched 4 goals in their impressive UCL run, despite being unable to feature in the recent knockout games due to his transfer to Chelsea. But the question we all want to know is, have Chelsea finally signed a successful striker after years of flops? My honest opinion is absolutely, and here’s why.
When we look at recent forwards from abroad that have hit the ground running in the Premier League - Mohammed Salah, Sadio Mane, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to name a few - they are all extremely fast but have the ability to play anywhere across the front 3 and enjoy making runs both into the channels and in behind centre halves. This makes them a menace to defend against as they become unpredictable and are able to lose their men much easier than the likes of Joelinton, Haller and Wesley, who have all come with similar price tags but have struggled to find their form in the Premier League.
Another key factor in why I believe Werner will be a big success in the EPL is down to his pedigree outside of the Bundesliga. For RB Leipzig in European competitions he boasts an impressive tally of 11 goals and 5 assists in 22 appearances. Internationally, he has also scored 11 times for Germany in 29 appearances, which although is certainly nothing mind-blowing, Germany have struggled in recent years and he is still just 24 years of age.
From an FPL perspective, although coming in reasonably expensive at 9.5m, I’m having him in my GWK 1 squad due to Chelsea’s opening fixtures; playing Brighton, West Brom, Crystal Palace and Southampton in their opening 5 games, with a home game against Liverpool to really test Timo’s credentials.
Hakim Ziyech
Hakim Ziyech is a Moroccan international and Chelsea’s new attacking midfielder/winger. He is extremely versatile but mainly operates as either a right winger or as a number 10, however he can also play a deeper role as a number 8 if needed. Ziyech’s main strengths are his creativity, passing range and set pieces and he enjoys cutting inside onto his strong left foot and looking to either get the ball into the box or have a shot at goal.
During his 4 year spell with Ajax, Ziyech had an extremely impressive record of 48 goals and 82 assists in his 165 appearances for the Dutch giants, showing both his eye for goal and his selflessness. This of course makes him very appealing from an FPL perspective, but at 8.0m I do worry there is a risk involved in whether or not he can emulate that form playing in a much more demanding league. I’ve enjoyed watching Ziyech play every time I’ve seen him over recent years, whether that has been in the UCL for Ajax or in the World Cup for Morocco, however, he can be a little one dimensional and I think he’s definitely in the ‘Ones To Watch’ category on FPL for me.
Kai Havertz
I have to come clean on this one, I’ve been a massive Havertz fan for the past few years ever since he broke onto the scene at Leverkusen, so I’ll try to be as unbiased as possible with this one. Kai Havertz is an attacking midfielder who can also operate as a second striker or on the wing, but his best statistics come when he’s playing as a number 10 (so I expect Ziyech to operate on the right and Kai in a central role). He has an impressive 19 goals and 21 assists for Leverkusen as a number 10, with a further 30 goals and 11 assists as a winger/second striker. His key attributes are his ability to hold onto the ball, positioning and pass accuracy, as well as his eye for goal. He is yet to break into the German national side’s starting XI, but at just 21 years old he will be hoping to become one of Deutschland’s star men over the coming years.
From an FPL perspective, the issue with Kai is how much Lampard likes fellow attacking midfielder, Mason Mount. Despite the high transfer figure paid by Chelsea, we saw with Christian Pulisic that Frank will not always throw everyone into the starting line-up if there is already an established name in that position, so Havertz could be made to wait for his chance, as with Pulisic. I think Havertz will be an exceptional addition to the Chelsea squad, and it will be interesting to see what his FPL price will be, but again, for me he is definitely someone to hold out on until his position in the squad becomes more ‘nailed’.
Summary
Honestly, what a transfer window for the Blues. The signings of Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and soon to be Kai Havertz have made Chelsea’s attacking force one of the best in the league and it must be extremely exciting as a Chelsea fan right now. However, their issues last season were primarily in defence. Although the signing of Ben Chilwell from Leicester is undoubtedly a much needed improvement at left back, if the rumoured Thiago Silva is the only other centre back coming in to help them defensively, I still don’t think their back four is strong enough to mount a title challenge. I also think this means that, other than the excellently valued Reece James at 5.0m, no other Chelsea defenders are a good option for FPL players, as Chilwell will be pricey and I can’t see clean sheets being a formality again for Lamps’ men this season.
Werner - BUY
Ziyech - WAIT (for form)
Havertz - WAIT (for nailed in XI)