Chelsea 2021/22 preview: Transfers, key player, fixtures, new kits, prediction & more

With Champions League and Super Cup glory already under their belt, Chelsea will be looking to keep the good times rolling under Thomas Tuchel when the 2021/22 season gets underway.

Having seen the level this squad is capable of reaching, Chelsea's goal this season is clear - win the Premier League. It's for that reason that Roman Abramovich is digging deep into his pockets once again, luring Romelu Lukaku back from Inter with a cool £97.5m.

The Blues have now added a bona-fide superstar striker, which is the one thing they were lacking last season, and fans are now expecting some big things from this new season.


Transfers

In: Marcus Bettinelli (free), Romelu Lukaku (£97.5m)

Out: Fikayo Tomori (£25m), Victor Moses (£4m), Olivier Giroud (£1m), Marc Guehi (£18m), Valentino Livramento (£5m), Billy Gilmour (loan), Armando Broja (loan)


First-team squad

1. Kepa Arrizabalaga
2. Antonio Rudiger
3. Marcos Alonso
4. Andreas Christensen
5. Jorginho
6. Thiago Silva
7. N'Golo Kante
8. Ross Barkley
9. Tammy Abraham
10. Christian Pulisic
11. Timo Werner
12. Ruben Loftus-Cheek
13. Marcus Bettinelli
14. Trevoh Chalobah
15. Kurt Zouma
16. Edouard Mendy
17. Mateo Kovacic
18. Ethan Ampadu
19. Mason Mount
20. Callum Hudson-Odoi
21. Ben Chilwell
22. Hakim Ziyech
24. Reece James
28. Cesar Azpilicueta
29. Kai Havertz
33. Emerson


Key player

If Chelsea are going to win the Premier League this season, they're going to need a big performance from new man Lukaku. The Belgian bagged 24 league goals last season - for comparison, Chelsea's top scorer was Jorginho with seven.

Lukaku is still actually looking for his first Chelsea goal, having drawn a blank in his 15 previous outings for the club, but there is reason to believe he might just end that drought in pretty emphatic fashion this year.

On top of his goals, Lukaku will also be tasked with linking up with fellow key names like Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Mason Mount, all of whom are expected to be more among the goals now that Lukaku is here.


Young player to watch