Thread by @FPL_Grillen, Here's a long thread on my thougts and some stats on the [...]

Here's a long thread on my thougts and some stats on the Chelsea attack for next season! Let's start at taking a look at their attacking players.
This took quite a while so likes and RTs are much appreciated!

Here's how I belivie that Chelsea will start for next season, (the CBs might be different but they're all pretty shit anyway). The biggest question is wheter Werner will play as a lone striker or as a left wing instead of Pulisic.

Timo Werner last season:
Games: 45
G: 34
A: 12
G+A per 90: 1.17
xGI per 90: 1.01
BCC: 20
BC missed: 28
3.78 shots per 90 and 1.83 on target.
One of the 3 players that has scored 25+ goals in the top 5 leagues.
His xG per 90 (0.83) is the 6th highest in the top 5 leagues!

Werner usually starts upfront with Poulsen or on the left in a 3-4-3 formation. But either way he loves to drift out wide to the left, the problem is that Chelsea already has a quality left winger with Christian Pulisic so there’s two possible outcomes in my opinion.

Either Pulisic gets on the bench which would be weird since he has arguably been their best player, or he starts upfront and Chelsea play with a very fluid attack which I believe is more likely especially if the manage to bring in Havertz as a no.10 or 8 who loves to give support

Even though he likes to operate on the wings you can see that most of his goals comes from a central position some of them due to him cutting inside and dribbling but most of them are goals he scored from through balls or when his teammates squares it over to him or a cut back.

Most of the time when he’s scored from the left is on a counter attack or through where his starting position was central but the pass was diagonal to the left so I can personally still see him starting upfront but drift a bit to the left so he can get the diagonal through balls.

If Pulisic is starting on the left I can see them both being very fluid in the attack, Pulisic likes to cut inside early and get into central positions. I think this will make the Chelsea attack very unpredictable for the oppostion with blistering pace from Pulisic and Werner...

... making quick runs and also having quality players like Ziyech and Mount that has the ability to play the deadly passes. When Ziyech gets the ball out wide he likes to cut inside and play a diagonal through ball with both Werner and Pulisic getting in behind...

it will be a nightmare for the defenders.

One more positive with Werner is that he's opposite to being injury prone, in his whole career he has never missed more than two games in a row and since the season 2014-15 Timo Werner has only missed 14 games due to injuries.

Now let’s take a deeper look at Hakim Ziyech.
Hakim Ziyech last season:
Games: 28
G: 8
A: 17
G+A per 90: 1.03
BCC: 27
BCM: 4
4.43 shots per 90 and 1.44 on target
He averages 3.7 KP per game which ranks him 3rd in the world behind KDB and Payet and his SPG ranks him 5th in world

Ziyech has been a key factor to the great Ajax attack and has played in different roles due to injuries but he has mostly played as an inverted right winger but can also play as a creative no.10 or 8.
In the Chelsea squad I believe he suits the right winger slot perfectly.

His heat map is also very impressive,The fact that it’s spread out is because he’s played in a lot of different positions to cover for injuries and as their manager put it “He was put where the genius was needed” which basically was much every postion in the attack and midfield

These types of passes from cutting inside from the right is Hakims speciality and will suit Pulisic and Werners runs from the left perfectly and will both work in a counter attack and to break down defensive teams.

One concern is that it’s always hard to adapt to the PL especially coming from Eredivisie where the quality is significantly lower but also from Bundesliga. But with Zieych and Werner I don’t think it’ll be a huge problem since they have performed well against top teams in Europe

In 4 games against Chelsea and Spurs Ziyech has gotten 3A and 1G. Also worth noting is that he has both scored and assisted against big teams like Juventus and Real Madrid therefore I don’t think it'll be a problem performing against the likes of Brighton and Newcastle.

Werner has also performed in the CL and in his 8 games he scored 4 and assisted 2 including 1G and 1A against Spurs. If we compare him to who Auba played similar to Werner in the Bundesliga before he signed to PL we can see that it's possible that he performs from the get go.

Last season in Bundesliga

Auba vs Werner
Games: 16 vs 34
Goals: 13 vs 28
Assists: 3 vs 8
In Aubas first season(half) in the PL he scored 10G and 4A in 13 games and I belivie we can expect similar returns from Werners first season.

A signing of Havertz would make the Chelsea attack world class in my opinion
Games: 43
G: 17
A: 9
G+A per 90: 0.65
xGI per 90: 0.59
BCC: 20
BCM: 13
2.02 shots per 90 and 0.82 on target
3.3 turnovers per game (2nd in Bundesliga) and 2.1 KP per game (7th in Bundesliga)

Kai Havertz main position is a no.10 but can also play as a no.8 or false 9, in Leverkusen he plays in a very free roaming roll and is very involved in all their attacks. He’s a very versatile player in my opinion, he scores goals and creates chances and with him begin 6 ft 2...

... he’s also able to be win the ball and can be an aerial threat from crosses.
Like Zieych he can play the deadly through balls but he also take the run in behind from deep. One of the best parts of his game is that he’s a clinical finisher especially when he gets a cut back.

Pulisic and Werner will often be ahead of the defender but not in a position to shoot, therefore it’s perfect for a player like Havertz who comes in the second wave and in a great position to get a cut back and scoring. Here’s three examples of when he has scored from cut backs.

He will most likely start in the middle for Chelsea but will roam around the field sometimes dropping deep and sometimes getting up in the striker role or out wide. This will suit Chelsea good since Ziyech who starts on the right also likes to create from the middle.

Ziyech can easily dribble into the middle with Havertz getting out more wide.
Havertz heat map is also looking very intriguing
Havertz is very quick so I think he will be that kind of player who roams around the field and gets into what ever space that’s empty.

As we can see here Leverkusen's striker is a bit to the left and there’s a small space that Havertz gets into and quickly switches the play to a 2v1 situation, if this was Chelsea those two players is most likely Pulisic and Werner which would result in a dangerous chance.

I don't really need to introduce Pulisic but here are his stats!
Christian Pulisic last season (in PL):
Games: 25(6)
G:9
A:8
G+A per 90: 0.68
xGI per 90: 0.63
BCC: 6
BCM: 8
Keep in mind that 4G and 5A was from the 650 minutes he played after the Corona break.

Another exciting player for next season is Reece James imo, if he’s nailed on he could be a very underrated choice. We know that he’s very attacking and likes to overlap his heatmap confirms that as well.

Ziyech most likely playing right wing next season and his ability to move central it will open up lots of space down the line for James to run in on and cross the ball. Last season he put in lots of crosses (109) which ranks him 11th among all defenders in the league.

Despite playing 1000 minutes less than the rest. The good part is that he likes to cross and will get into even more crossing opportunities next season but the problem is that the quality isn’t the best. Out of all his 109 crosses only 26 of them has been successful although

most of us will admit that TAA is an incredible crosser, his percantage of succesefull crosses is 21% and James is actually 24% so if he gets more game time and therefore putting in more crosses I think he could be a really quality asset.

Even though the front 3 aren’t great in the air but I still think he’ll bag some assists because crosses doesn’t necessarily have to be scored by an header. No one in the Liverpool front three is a very big aerial threat but Robbo and TAA still racks up the assists from crosses.

So who is the best FPL asset in my opinion?
It’s hard to tell because only Pulisic has actually played in PL and it’s very very close between them since everyone is a quality player. But my ranking would be this:

1. Werner
2. Pulisic
3. Ziyech
4. Havertz

Most of the things are pointing to that Werner will continue to be a class player in the PL. He’s great at adapting, when defender dropped deep he developed his hold up play and his creative side therefore I think he will be able to adapt to the PL as well.

The reason why Pulisic is second is that I think that he’ll carry on with his great form after the restart especially since it’s a small break before the season start again so I think his form will continue and improve even more with the new signings.

Ziyech is a hard one to tell since the difference between Eredivisie and PL is big but the fact that he has performed in the CL I wouldn’t worry too much. I also believe that Pulisic posses more of a goal threat and Ziyech is more of a playmaker.

the thing is if he gets in form in the PL I can see him posting insane numbers espceially if he’s on set pieces. In the season 18/19 he got 17 assists, here’s a video of his passes and why he comfortably could’ve gotten 35+ if his teammates could finish.

The reasoning for Havertz being last is partly because he hasn’t signed but also since he doesn’t have PL experience or great stats against better teams in Europe. Therefore he’s the most unpredictable, it’s also hard to tell what role he will play aswell.

Thank you if you read this! This took awhile to RTs and likes are very much appreciated!

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