Chelsea season preview: All aboard the Bompastor bus
Our Chelsea expert Jessy Parker Humphreys on a busy summer for the Blues and what fans should expect to see this season.
Chelsea are heading into this new season in uncharted territory. For the first time in 12 years, there will be no Emma Hayes on the sidelines. In her place arrives former Lyon manager and France international Sonia Bompastor.
Bompastor is an intriguing figure. Her management of Lyon has shown she can be very successful, winning plenty of domestic titles and one Uefa Women’s Champions League, plus she is familiar with the expectations of managing a big club. But at the same time, her Lyon team felt tactically stale at points.
Early indications at Chelsea though are of a team revitalised. There was an intensity in their two games in the US against Gotham and Arsenal that had been lacking in recent seasons. How that translates to the WSL remains to be seen, but there is plenty of optimism around the club.
What happened last season?
Emma Hayes’ announcement that she would be departing Chelsea at the end of the season came as a shock in October but it gave the club plenty of time to adjust to the new reality. There was no shortage of drama in the ensuing months, from pushing Jonas Eidevall at the Continental Cup final to some ill-judged comments about player relationships. Sam Kerr sustained an ACL injury in January while Millie Bright’s own knee issues kept her out for a significant chunk of the campaign.
Those absences certainly gave Hayes a tough task in her final year, with the obvious aim of getting her hands on the final piece missing from her trophy cabinet: the Champions League. Despite a valiant effort against Barcelona, they bowed out at the semi-final stage
It looked like Hayes would end up with no silverware at all until Arsenal striker Stina Blackstenius popped up to do Chelsea a favour. Her late double against Manchester City in the penultimate gameweek helped Chelsea secure a fifth consecutive title on the final day of the season.
Sum up the summer transfer window…
Chelsea raised eyebrows when they signed Lucy Bronze on a free transfer following the expiration of her contract at Barcelona but she brings some experience in a squad that seems to be actively lowering its average age. Long term stalwarts including Fran Kirby, Maren Mjelde, Melanie Leupolz and Jess Carter all left, with the latter's exit coming as a particular shock.
To replace them Chelsea have predominantly looked to France with forward Sandy Baltimore and midfielder Oriane Jean-Francois arriving from Paris Saint-Germain and defender Maelys Mpome joining from Montepelier. They also recruited one of Barcelona’s academy products in Julia Bartel. Two of last season’s signings who stayed on loan at their former clubs have also joined the first team squad - Wieke Kaptein and Alejandra Bernabe.
Who should fans keep an eye on this season?
Wieke Kaptein is the player everyone has been talking about in pre-season. Signed from and immediately loaned back to Twente last summer, the 19 year old midfielder looks like she has been playing for Chelsea for years. She has a striking resemblance to Erin Cuthbert, both visually and stylistically. Comfortable on the ball and strong in a tackle, she has shown a positional intelligence that suits the fluid double pivot Chelsea look set to play this season.
The game you’ve marked in your calendar….
It is hard to judge exactly what the expectations on Bompastor will be when it comes to silverware but the team’s performance in big games will be carefully noted. Chelsea have not had a good performance against Arsenal at the Emirates basically ever. The trip there in October will be Chelsea’s first big test and an early opportunity for Bompastor to show her mettle.
Prediction…
The received wisdom is that a transitional year should be expected for a new manager coming in, particularly one following on from such a legendary figure. But Chelsea’s pre-season intensity and the strength of their squad means it is hard to completely write them off when it comes to going for the title. A lot will depend on how strong their rivals can be. Arsenal and Manchester City clearly have an advantage with how settled their managers are, but both teams have enough weaknesses that Chelsea will believe they can maintain their dominance. I’ll go for 2nd.
Jessy Parker Humphreys is a freelance writer and broadcaster who specialises in women's football. Jessy first started covering the WSL in 2019, after completing a master's dissertation on grassroots football. Their bylines include The Athletic, FourFourTwo, Metro, and The Independent. They are a lifelong Chelsea fan and Kingsmeadow season ticket holder.
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