Chelsea were thrown by the wayside after winning the Champions League against Manchester City in 2021, but have been piecing themselves back together and now look like genuine competitors both in the Premier League and on the continent.
Enzo Maresca has already proven his worth as Stamford Bridge’s tactical architect, with the Blues in fourth place in the Premier League after seven matches and oozing quality in the final third. It’s a frontline to be reckoned with, no doubt.
Whether the Blues restore their place among Europe’s elite after two years away remains to be seen, but the signs are promising indeed.
Say what you want about Chelsea’s scattergun spending, but BlueCo have triumphed in bringing players in on reasonable salaries, with the highest-paid players in west London all plying their trade at the club for several years now.
Chelsea's highest-paid players
Chelsea have a team containing many lucrative parts, and though a new wave of high-class potential is being ushered through, co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart deserve praise for whittling down the salary bill, with Joao Felix and Pedro Neto not even making the top six highest-paid players.
1.
Reece James
£250k-per-week
2.
Ben Chilwell
£200k-per-week
2=
Wesley Fofana
£200k-per-week
4.
Christopher Nkunku
£195k-per-week
5.
Enzo Fernandez
£180k-per-week
Interestingly, the west Londoners’ top three earners are all defenders, which is something that you don’t see all that often among the most prominent clubs in the Premier League.
Ben Chilwell is effectively an outcast after being told by Maresca that he’s surplus to requirements in August, while Wesley Fofana is an exceptional talent but has been ravaged by injuries since signing from Leicester City in a deal worth £75m just over two years ago.
That leaves Reece James. The Chelsea captain takes home more than any other player on the books but has also been wrecked by injuries across the past few years, finding that his one-time pedigree as one of the finest talents across the continent has flaked away like a sheet of paper caught aflame.
Reece James' injury issues
The elite talent has fallen. But there are cautiously positive signs that he is approaching a return that could make a world difference to Maresca’s Chelsea plans.
The Italian head coach has revealed that though James is on the cusp of a comeback, the incessant torrent of injuries that have wreaked havoc on his development have now precluded the schedule that most players abide by in the modern landscape.
This isn’t detrimental. In fact, the staggered return to match action will allow Malo Gusto to continue to showcase his quality, offering an agile and creative take on the right-back role.
Having been sidelined for much of recent memory, James has been unable to prove himself competitively under Maresca, but the former Leicester boss will be fully aware of his club captain’s quality.
James was anointed as Chelsea captain in August 2023 in a significant show of faith from Mauricio Pochettino, and though his fitness levels have failed to serve him fittingly, he’s still a leader and carries a skillset that towers above that of his teammates. He’s “one of the best in the world”, as new Crystal Palace recruit Trevoh Chalobah has proclaimed him.
Matches (starts)
26 (22)
Goals
5
Assists
9
Clean sheets
5
Touches*
76.1
Pass completion
90%
Key passes*
1.9
Ball recoveries*
4.8
Tackles*
1.3
Ground duels won*
3.8 (61%)
This is the level that James can produce for Chelsea, when fit, if fit. It’s so important that he is managed aptly across these coming months to ensure that the Blues can revel in his quality while easing any risk of aggravating existing issues.
One described as an “absolute superstar” by The Athletic’s Liam Twomey, the 24-year-old is not too far away from the prime of his career, and though he’s suffered a veritable landslide in regard to his market value, it’s clear that changes are needed with haste, lest he fall into the great chasm of obscurity that such heavy setbacks could inflict.
Reece James' market value in 2024/25
James, let’s not forget, was truly one of Europe’s most electrifying talents when bursting onto the scene. With pace and power, composure and command and an ability to girdle his qualities together and overpower his opponents quickly set him apart from the lion’s share of talented full-backs across Europe.
It’s not that he’s struggled to impress over the past several years, but that James has been unable to do so, shackled to the sidelines by injuries.
Still. Chelsea know that he’s one of the biggest talents in the country, and though there were reports in the summer that entertained the notion of the Three Lions star’s sale, it became clear that the London-based side would only let their skipper leave for a staggering sum of £80m.
Now, though, the failure to inspire positive change has seen a shocking depreciation enforced. As per Football Transfers, the Chelsea star is only worth £21m after his dismal run, which marks a tear-jerking plummet of £59m. It’s a bleak thing to read.
Everyone wants to see James return to the fore, and though there’s plenty of frustration around the endless catalogue of problems that have been inflicted on the defender, it’s clear that he has a boss in Maresca who understands that managing him deftly is more important than thrusting him into the thick of the action too quickly.
Perhaps this could be a turning point, taking him back toward that one-time position of prominence.
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