Chelsea’s biggest task this summer is replacing outgoing stars

Chelsea stormed to Premier League success this season but certainly benefitted from an absence of European involvement, which meant their relatively small squad was not tested in an array of different competitions.

Ahead of the return to Champions League football next season, Chelsea’s depth needs to be prepared to compete and the fact that an array of stars seem set to leave Antonio Conte’s side is a concern- as they’ll need replacing swiftly.

Reserve goalkeeper Asmir Begovic has completed a move to Bournemouth, which leaves Chelsea needing an understudy to Thibaut Courtois, and Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi also seems intent on leaving Stamford Bridge after a disappointing maiden campaign in the Premier League.

With John Terry having already left and the likes of Diego Costa continuously being linked with an exit, Chelsea may struggle this summer as they could be left with too much to do- as their significant lack of depth is a real issue.

As it stands Chelsea need to improve their options between the sticks, in central defence, in the wing-back roles, in central midfield and in attack- which leaves the Blues needing at least five or six new additions this summer.

Although not all of the necessary additions are likely to become the first names on the team-sheet, it will be difficult to attract players to play in an understudy role- especially after Batshuayi failed to earn regular opportunities following his multi-million pound switch from Marseille last summer.

Conte’s side this season benefitted from not needing to be rotated but that won’t be the case in their title defence and return to the Champions League next season- and the current squad seems unable to compete with the rigours of two testing matches a week.

It’s strange that a title-winning side is left with such a vast amount of business to do in the summer transfer window and the fact that Chelsea have been reluctant to spend in previous campaigns after winning the Premier League is a concern.

Roman Abramovich needs to make funds available this summer for Conte to spend, and the outgoing deals need to be restricted, otherwise Chelsea will concede their league crown and will face a major test to even finish in the top four.

Both Manchester sides are set to invest heavily this summer, and anything less than Premier League success for that pair will be considered an under-achievement, which means the pressure is on Conte- and that’s usually a problem at Chelsea.

Conte deserves time to complete his project at Stamford Bridge but Abramovich has been unforgiving in the past, although he deserves as much blame as any manger for the club’s failures to complete necessary signings in the transfer windows.