Frank Lampard established a promising base of young talent at Chelsea last season, and the major spending that followed was supposed to complement that progress.
Instead of picking up raw talents who would need more time to adapt and to develop, Chelsea were adding experienced professionals to a now battle-hardened group of academy graduates.
Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell, Edouard Mendy and Thiago Silva were bought in part because they had each played plenty of first team football and would be ready to contribute immediately alongside the freshly-blooded kids.
As it’s turned out, with the exception of Silva, they’ve all had a much slower start than was hoped. Havertz has never looked comfortable, Werner and Chilwell have faded dramatically after bright starts and Mendy – while still a major upgrade on Kepa – isn’t looking as commanding as he did initially.
Ziyech has so far avoided the same widespread criticism that the others have suffered simply because his time on the pitch has been limited, but last weekend’s poor FA Cup display has finally seen him shifted to the “disappointment” pile – for now. There are even some rumours in Italy today that he will seek a move abroad this summer – although we don’t think there’s much substance to them.
Perhaps we should have all been more conservative in our expectations. 100 Bundesliga appearances doesn’t mean you’ll be an instant success elsewhere, nor does reaching a Champions League semi final, as Ziyech did. Under normal circumstances, where we might only have signed one or two of these established players at once, there would be plenty of patience.
As it is, however, we signed 6 players who were supposed to be ready to slot into the first team and upgrade it from the off, and seen only one make a marked improvement on what Lampard had established last season.
That’s no reason to write off Ziyech, Havertz or any of the other summer arrivals. But it’s another reminder that things aren’t as simple as a stat-line. Players are people, and 100 Bundesliga appearances doesn’t count for much if you’re uncomfortable in a new country and a new team, struggling to play every week. While sometimes you get lucky and can transplant a top player straight into your starting XI without a hitch, as Manchester City did with Ruben Dias this year, more often than not there are at least a few bumps along the way.
And there you find the root of this season’s issues: a team can handle the ups-and-downs of one player’s adaptation to the league, but those same fluctuations in form – when applied to a group as large as this – can’t be overcome. It’s already cost Frank Lampard his job, and unless we see a continued rally in this second half of the season, it could cost us a Champions League place too.
How to blame ziyech when Chelsea’s top scorer is in 40th position in the scorers standings with 5 goals? there are no scorers or key players at Chelsea, that’s the problem, not ziyech