Chelsea's project has led Enzo Maresca to another winter slump: Immature Blues were never Premier League title contenders – and recruitment negligence has them in a Champions League scramble again

There was good enough reason for everyone at Chelsea to feel positive about their prospects this season as November rolled into December. Enzo Maresca had just led his young side to a seismic 3-0 win over Barcelona in the Champions League, while they held Premier League leaders Arsenal to a credible 1-1 draw days later despite playing much of the match with one fewer player after Moises Caicedo's red card.

Fast-forward a couple of weeks, however, and the mood in west London has considerably soured. The Blues have taken one point from the six available to them in the Premier League since clamping the title-favourite Gunners, drawing away to an out-of-form Bournemouth after losing to Leeds United. They were heading towards redemption in Europe away at Atalanta on Tuesday, but were beaten 2-1 in Bergamo and lost control of a place in the top eight of the league phase in the process.

Once again, there is the prospect of a harsh winter hurrying over the horizon. Chelsea, however, had ample warning time and ought to have prepared better. Instead, their stubborn attitude towards their 'project' has set them up for a transitional season rather than one of glory.

Getty Images SportSimilar drop-off

Maresca's Chelsea have prior form when it comes to suffering through the festive period. Though they began December 2024 with six successive wins across all competitions, they embarked on a run of five Premier League matches without a win afterwards, with their only respite in that period coming in an FA Cup tie against Morecambe.

When the Blues beat Brentford 2-1 before that rot set in, they moved to within two points of Liverpool at the top of the table. Yet the message coming out from the club was clear – they didn't want to be considered title contenders. It was the overriding narrative that may as well have been printed above the Stamford Bridge tunnel in the same way Anfield's is adorned with 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.

"I don't even know what that is," then-Chelsea winger Noni Madueke responded when asked about winning the league before his side dropped points at Everton to begin their winless run. They may have become the first team in history to talk themselves out of contention.

That streak without a Premier League victory ended on January 20 with a 3-1 triumph at home to Wolves, but Chelsea then lost three of their next four matches to plummet them back into a top-five fight. They only just about recovered and finished fourth on the final day of the season after beating fellow European contenders Nottingham Forest.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportDifferent reasons for new slump?

The first half of 2024-25 went swimmingly for Chelsea for a couple of key reasons. Maresca, perhaps most importantly, built on the foundations laid by predecessor Mauricio Pochettino, whose own iteration of the Blues ended up finishing only five points off a Champions League spot despite the mixed reviews of his one-season tenure. The west Londoners lost only twice in the Premier League before Boxing Day – at home to champions Manchester City on the opening weekend, and then away at eventual title-winners Liverpool in October.

But Chelsea were also boosted by playing in the six-match league phase of the Conference League, rather than the eight-match gauntlet of the Champions League this term. While their domestic contemporaries were away battling the continent's best, Maresca was able to rotate en masse to face the likes of FC Noah, Astana and Shamrock Rovers. His first-teamers were fitter and fresher than the others at the top of the Premier League, while Cole Palmer wasn't even registered in Europe until the knockout stages.

This term, Maresca has found it tough juggling with the increased importance of fixtures every three or four days as opposed to splitting his squad into two for different competitions. That's before we even begin to think of the repercussions of their lengthy Club World Cup campaign over the summer, which left them without much of a pre-season to build up fitness and sharpness again.

have calculated that Maresca has already made a whopping 119 changes to his starting line-ups in 23 games to date this season, which is a high among Premier League clubs, and the squad is already wilting physically.

"I think tonight, first XI, we had inside the pitch eight, nine players that they play against Tottenham, they play against Barcelona, they play against Wolves, Arsenal," the Italian said after Tuesday's defeat to Atalanta. "So if you see the five changes that we did compared to Bournemouth, it's different. The ones that play tonight are the ones that are playing almost all the games."

Getty Images SportMess of their own making

Chelsea knew this sort of problem would be awaiting them this season. The club and its decision-makers were aware of how many matches the team would be playing off the back of a gruelling and extended 2024-25 campaign. They brought in eight players over the summer who have gone into Maresca's squad right away (Dario Essugo, Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens, Jorrel Hato, Estevao Willian, Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Buanonotte), but sold off six who played significant minutes last term (Madueke, Joao Felix, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Renato Veiga, Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson). They didn't add enough bodies ready to compete at the highest level.

Of their most recent acquisitions, you could only make cases for one of Pedro and Delap being in their strongest starting line up. Even then, they aren't players who particularly move the needle when compared to last season's team. Add in that Chelsea have again plundered away millions on prospects who may or may not even play a competitive minute for the club and it leaves you wondering how many more, top-line reinforcements they could have added instead.

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Getty Images SportReliance on Palmer and Caicedo

For all of the millions and billions that Chelsea have spent in the BlueCo era, only two of their signings are bonafide 'world-class', with Caicedo and Palmer well clear of their peers. The Blues have been up-and-down without their 'cold' superstar, but are winless since the Ecuadorian was sent off against Arsenal (though even his return against Atalanta was marked with a loss).

That is an absurdly low hit rate for a club that has boasted of its 'trading model'. At £105 million ($140m), World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez should be more than a good-not-great stalwart. Options in either box are mostly middling at best. Their rotating cast of wingers are all of a similar standard without a standout option, bar the moments the incredibly raw Estevao decides to go Super Saiyan.

The only saving grace in this regard is Chelsea have managed the return of Reece James well, with the injury-prone captain now regularly fit and able to play in their most important matches. Nevertheless, they still lack the star power which should be requisite for a club of this size and outlay.