Why Europa League success is so important for Chelsea
It is vital that Chelsea qualify for the Champions League next season and winning the Europa League might prove to be their best opportunity to do so.
They are locked in a ferocious three-way tussle with Arsenal and a resurgent Man Utd for fourth place in the Premiership, having lost ground on both teams over the winter. Yet they are the clear favourites to go on and win the Europa League with the top rated betting websites. If they can pull it off it would massively strengthen their position in the transfer market this summer, regardless of whether the ban on signing players is upheld.
As it stands, the Blues are prohibited from signing any players until the summer of 2020 as punishment for breaching FIFA rules when it came to bringing in academy players from overseas. Barcelona managed to delay a similar ban and spent a fortune in the transfer market to tide them over for two years of subsequent inactivity, and Chelsea should try to follow suit. If they can secure a delay by holding it up in appeal courts, it would be much easier to recruit players in the summer if they could offer Champions League football.
If they cannot successfully appeal against the ban or delay it, they will have to simply make do with the squad they have. Loan players can be recalled, as the likes of Gonzalo Higuain and Mateo Kovacic could not make their moves permanent, while the arrival of Christian Pulisic would be plunged into doubt. The greatest job the club would face in this event would be to keep hold of all their existing players.
Eden Hazard is said to be keen on a move to Real Madrid in order to progress his career. Young forward Callum Hudson-Odoi handed in a transfer request in January as he attempted to push through a move to Bayern Munich. He wants to follow in the footsteps of Jadon Sancho, who has come on leaps and bounds since trading the subs bench at Man City for a starting berth at table-toppers Borussia Dortmund. Yet Chelsea would desperately need to keep hold of those two, as they would be the main attackers for the 2019/20 season. Pedro and Willian would still be in the mix, but they have both struggled for consistency this year, while it might be time to give Olivier Giroud a long run in the team, or put faith in Tammy Abraham or Michy Batshuayi.
Either way, it will be much easier to persuade the likes of Hazard and Hudson-Odoi to stay if they have Europa League winners’ medals around their necks and Champions League football to look forward to in 2019/20. Chelsea are the favourites, ahead of Napoli and Arsenal, and they have the quality to beat either of those teams if they meet in the latter stages of the tournament.
The Blues proved they are still a force to be reckoned with as they held Man City to a 0-0 draw in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday. It descended into farce, with Kepa Arrizabalaga refusing to be substituted and sending Maurizio Sarri into a rage, but before that Chelsea gave a remarkably solid and disciplined performance, with N’Golo Kante in exceptional form. Man City have only failed to score in two games this season, and both came against Chelsea. They have the defensive might to beat anyone in the Europa League, and the likes of Hazard should be enough to unlock any defences. Napoli are having another decent season in Italy, but the level of quality there is not a patch on the Premiership, and Arsenal’s defensive frailties are obvious, so Chelsea have a pretty clear route to another trophy and Champions League qualification.
