Mike Maignan starts, Moses Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez: Chelsea’s dream eleven against Liverpool

The 2023/24 Premier League season is around a month and a half to go, with Chelsea starting the season at home to Liverpool on Sunday 13 August.

The Blues take on the Reds in what will be the first competitive match of Mauricio Pochettino’s reign at Stamford Bridge.

The Argentine, who officially begins his new role on July 1, has a full pre-season campaign to get used to his new squad and identify who is in his plans and who will move.

Chelsea have already taken the initiative in this regard. The Blues have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to try and fire those unwanted players and shorten the roster for when Pochettino gets his job.

So far, the club have sacked four players in N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mateo Kovacic and Edouard Mendy. While the former joined on a free transfer, Chelsea received well over £50million for Koulibaly, Kovacic and Mendy. Many more are expected to follow suit.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has agreed a move to AC Milan and Chelsea have agreed an £18million transfer fee for the 27-year-old. football.london understands that Loftus-Cheek is due in Milan this week to complete his medical and make an official move to San Siro.

Kai Havertz completed a £65million move to Arsenal on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Hakim Ziyech, like his former teammates Koulibaly and Kante, is on his way to Saudi Arabia.

In addition to selling a certain number of players, the club is looking to strengthen its selection. Moises Caicedo remains Chelsea’s main focus in midfield, with the club also eyeing Southampton’s Romeo Lavia, football.london knows.
Chelsea are still looking for a new first choice goalkeeper.

Mike Maignan and Andre Onana emerged as the two favorites in that particular position. For the first, on the other hand, the negotiation is seen as very complicated, given that Milan tries to reject any interest with a very high appreciation of the goalkeeper’s price.

Nicolas Jackson is almost done. Chelsea have activated the Villarreal striker’s £30m release clause and the Senegalese international is expected to be announced shortly.

That said, football.london Chelsea writers Bobby Vincent and Scott Trotter have given their verdict on what Pochettino’s ‘dream’ XI could look like in the opening weekend against Liverpool. Let us know if you agree in the comments below…

Bob Vincent

It may seem unrealistic at the moment, but if Chelsea can find their way to Milan with a deal to sign Maignan – who is currently one of the best goalkeepers in world football – then that would be Pochettino’s dream in goal. Kepa Arrizabalaga had a decent 2022/23 season but didn’t do enough to convince him that he should be first choice for next semester.

Levi Colwill returns to the club and despite interest from Brighton, football.london have been told there is no chance Chelsea will allow him to leave the club this summer. He is expected to join the squad alongside the experienced and brilliant Thiago Silva.

As mentioned above, Lavia and Caicedo are key players, so if Chelsea somehow manage to sign these two, the trio in midfield would have a great balance. At their side, of course, Enzo Fernandez, with the Argentine destined to do even better in his first full season in England.

It remains to be seen what plans Chelsea have for Jackson in his debut season in England. But £30m suggests he could be a key player and with the departure of Havertz he could be the man to start number 9 going into the opening weekend of the season.

Scott Trotter

Even if it were an initial priority, the arrival of a first choice goalkeeper would still be important for Chelsea, even if it seems unlikely at this stage.

Andre Onana showed some things he can be happy about in the Champions League final and could be a fun addition to move Chelsea from the back and feature in any of Romelu Lukaku’s transfer deals with Inter.

Reece James and Ben Chilwell are easy picks provided they are fit. Chelsea’s partnership at centre-back will spark a lot of debate as the season progresses.

With Trevoh Chalobah eyeing a move to Serie A and Benoit Badiashile recovering from injury, the only remaining rivals are Thiago Silva, Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill.

With the latter still at the European Under-21 Championship, the extended time he has spent with Mauricio Pochettino could give the former duo an edge going into the opening matchday of the season.

Enzo Fernandez is also among the first names in the squad and can form a central midfield base alongside Moises Caicedo.

Newcomer Christopher Nkunku could be the man for them and provide support for whoever is leading the way, while Raheem Sterling can provide some breadth after being given a chance to freshen up ahead of the pre-season season.

Noni Madueke has demonstrated more than Mykhailo Mudryk can so far operate with discipline at the back wing in terms of keeping the Chelsea forward in the air. Nicolas Jackson will arrive in the next few days and will face Armando Broja.

However, could the Blues still pull a rabbit out of a hat and land Lautaro Martinez? At the moment it would be a dream for Broja to return from injury and ignite the squad to remind everyone of his qualities.