Chelsea’s transfer activity in this summer transfer window has gained a lot of interest from around the footballing world.
While the Blues may not yet be ready to challenge Liverpool and Manchester City for the title, a lot of pre-season predictions have tipped them as the most likely contenders.
Such a high turnover of players both in and out of the Stamford Bridge door prior to this season starting has left several question marks over how the Blues will line-up come Monday night against Brighton & Hove Albion.
An issue that could arise for Frank Lampard when considering his team selection is how he juggles the high number of options at his disposal. Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic, Kai Havertz and others boast similarities in attack which could present an issue when trying to keep a whole squad happy.
However, pre-match injury news ahead of Monday night illustrates just how valuable squad depth will be for the Blues and why having several players pushing for starting places cannot possibly be a negative.
On Thursday, Lampard confirmed that new signings Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell will both miss out due to injury. When looking at Ziyech’s absence, having the likes of Havertz, Callum Hudson-Odoi and others to play instead perhaps best shows how much depth the Blues have in attack.
At left-back, too, Marcos Alonso remains at the club and a more than capable replacement for Chilwell who will have to wait for his debut. Despite the Spanish full-back having flaws in his defensive abilities, he stands as a good back-up option to Chilwell.
A sustained period without the hectic nature of top-flight football can often lead us to think that players have no issues with injury. Chelsea may have made several signings this summer but it is already being proven that such added depth is both needed and crucial for sustained periods of success across several competitions.
When asked about pressure and expectation during his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Lampard instantly batted off that notion with a timely reminder that he knows exactly what it takes to succeed at Chelsea.
Management might be an entirely different task, but he will at least know how to mentally prepare his players to face the expectation thrown upon them.
On top of that, juggling the high number of options that Lampard will have at his disposal will be a task in itself. It is not yet known how they will line-up against Brighton or what their strongest starting XI will be further down the line.
Being able to find a balance between keeping the entire squad happy and getting results will be a challenge for Lampard in the early years of his management career but, as shown by recent injury news, it is unlikely that the entire squad will be fit at any given time.
