Fan Talk with Chris Wright: Top six would be good season for Chelsea

Chelsea fanatic, cfcuk Fanzine writer and author Chris Wright is unsure what to expect from the Blues' 2023-24 campaign but is backing new boss Mauricio Pochettino to have a positive impact.

Poch promise

When Mauricio Pochettino was linked with Chelsea for a period last season, I think a lot supporters wondered if he was as elite as some of the managers we've had previously, like Thomas Tuchel and Carlo Ancelotti.

But as the season went on and how it finished, I actually started to feel quite lucky to have got him. We have a very young squad and he has experience developing talent.

He was obviously at Tottenham but Blues supporters are well-versed in high manager turnover. And there's always a link to another team with our bosses.

All change

It's been more about outgoings than incomings this summer — we've had a clearout and it was definitely needed.

Apart from Mason Mount, it's hard to disagree with the players that have been moved on. Cesar Azpilicueta and N'Golo Kante leave as legends, while Kai Havertz's time was clearly up.

But what that does mean is it's so hard to judge how we're shaping up ahead of the new season — our line-ups have changed from game to game and even half to half in pre-season.

There are still areas we need to improve and Moises Caicedo would be a great addition to our currently limited midfield options. 

I think the fact that deal hasn't been agreed with Brighton yet actually suggests Todd Boehly and Co are learning their lesson a bit. They're more reluctant to hand out massive fees.

Let's be real

The last time we weren't in Europe was 2016-17, when we won the league under Antonio Conte having finished 10th the season before.

I've heard some suggest the same thing could happen this time but we're nowhere near the level of team we still were then.

We had the likes of Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas. I'm not saying this current crop can't challenge in the future but there's still plenty of work to do to get to that point.

I hopefully don't sound like a negative fan when I say this but I think top six would be a decent season.

You've now got the likes of Brighton, Brentford and Aston Villa challenging with us and you wouldn't confidently say we will beat any of them right now.

Encouraging signs

That's not to say I haven't been encouraged by what I've seen in pre-season.

Ian Maatsen has almost come from nowhere and looks like he could become a real part of our squad. Levi Colwill, another of our academy stars, also looks like he'll get plenty of game time.

Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson appear to be savvy additions up front and I think Mykhailo Mudryk could prove a lot of doubters wrong with a strong campaign.

I still believe we could finish anywhere between 10th and fourth but I'd like to think 2023-24 will at least be more enjoyable than last season!

Chris Wright was speaking to Cian Cheesbrough