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Antonio Conte’s Chelsea are struggling to profit from their £185m summer spree
As Antonio Conte prepares to gamble on a big-money move for Andy Carroll, Simon Johnson assesses the impact of five other men the Blues splashed out on to beef up title-winning squad.
Alvaro Morata (£58m plus add-ons)
Has gone 398 minutes without scoring
No matter who Chelsea signed to replace Diego Costa as their main talisman up front, it was never going to be an easy task.
Costa was a brute in the Premier League, scoring 52 goals as he helped fire the club to two titles in three years. After Manchester United made a late bid to beat the Blues to Romelu Lukaku, coach Antonio Conte opted for Real Madrid frontman Morata instead.
The 25-year-old had the added pressure of becoming Chelsea’s new record transfer, too, but initially it didn’t faze him. Seven goals in his first eight appearances was a fine start and an added bonus was his instant understanding with Cesar Azpilicueta, who has provided six assists so far. There was also promising signs of a partnership developing with Eden Hazard, yet the burden of leading the line match after match has taken a toll on the Spain international.
Morata has scored just five times in his past 22 appearances and his all-round game has dipped.
Most worrying for Conte is the huge difference between Morata’s ability to finish chances in the air (he has scored six headers in the League) compared to with his feet (just four goals).
Chelsea badly need Morata’s confidence to return.
Success rating: 7/10
Tiemoue Bakayoko (£40m)
Midfielder has only two assists in 21 Premier League games
Tiemoue Bakayoko was extensively scouted by Chelsea last season, with Conte watching him at Monaco.
At 23, he is six years younger than title-winner Nemanja Matic, who was allowed to move to Manchester United for the same £40million fee. Bakayoko’s arrival also led academy graduate Nathaniel Chalobah to seek first-team football elsewhere and he joined Watford for just £5m.
Chelsea’s thinking was understandable. Bakayoko knows N’Golo Kante well as they play together for France and it was hoped they’d form a dominant partnership. However, so far there have been few flashes of what he can do. Positive early displays in victories against Stoke, Atletico Madrid and Manchester United are a distant memory.
Bakayoko is struggling to adapt to the speed of English football and his passing and finishing has been wayward. He has rarely looked 100 per cent fit due to a knee operation in June but time is on his side to improve.
Success rating: 4/10
Antonio Rudiger (£29m)
Has a tackle success rate in the Premier League of 76%
Chelsea needed another centre-half following John Terry’s departure and will be content with Antonio Rudiger’s progress.
The club tried to buy the defender from Roma a year earlier, only for a serious knee ligament injury to bring talks to a halt.
Rudiger can also play as a right-back and his presence in the squad has given Conte an opportunity to rotate the defensive options. After a stuttering start to the campaign, the 24-year-old has become a mainstay in the first XI.
He has started seven of the past eight matches and is beginning to put captain Gary Cahill under pressure for his place.
Conte turned to Rudiger rather than the Englishman to play on the left of the back three against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg last week.
The German’s strong physical presence and tackling ability has provided some added steel, although sometimes he can be caught out of position. Notably the home crowd have already warmed to him.
Success rating: 7/10
Danny Drinkwater (£35m)
Has started just six times since debut in October
Bad luck, rather than a lack of ability, is the main reason why Danny Drinkwater’s Chelsea career hasn’t been able to get going yet.
It would be an understatement to suggest there were a few raised eyebrows when Chelsea made their move for the Leicester midfielder. With the two clubs unable to agree a fee until transfer deadline day, the 27-year-old joined without having experienced a pre-season under Conte.
When the demanding Italian put him to work, Drinkwater soon sustained a serious calf injury and he had to wait until late October to make his debut. It has meant Conte’s plan to reunite the midfield duo of Kante and Drinkwater, who inspired Leicester to the League title in 2016, has rarely featured. Indeed, they have started just four matches together.
Drinkwater has displayed some fine ability to pass a ball when given a chance to impress.
A few weeks ago he even looked in the kind of form that could force his way back into the England squad, only to struggle against Norwich and Arsenal.
Success rating: 6/10
Davide Zappacosta (£23m plus add-ons)
Has a cross accuracy in the PL of just 23%
Davide Zappacosta looked like a panic buy on the final day of the last transfer window and he has done little to change that opinion.
Conte was desperate to add a left and right wingback to the ranks in order to provide competition for Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses respectively. However, he was left frustrated as Juventus refused to sell Alex Sandro, Manchester City beat them to Real Madrid’s Danilo and Serge Aurier joined Tottenham.
READ MORE: Should Chelsea really try for Carroll?
READ MORE: Conte not afraid to upset Hazard
The move for Zappacosta seemed a last resort, although there was some optimism provided by statistics showing that only Sandro had made more accurate crosses from open play in Serie A since January 2016. Given that is one of the skills Moses doesn’t possess, the Italy international should be a major asset in attack. Yet there has been little evidence of that so far.
Zappacosta has just one assist and one goal to his name, the latter courtesy of a mishit cross.
The 25-year-old has defended reasonably on both flanks but Chelsea will hope to get more for their money.
