One of the worst seasons in recent Chelsea history is finally over, which is a relief. It’s been painful to watch. After three managers, the Blues finished last in the league for the first time since 1993–94 and were kicked out of the Champions League without a peep.
With the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as head coach and a new start, it’s clear that the club wants to move on quickly from the mess and look forward to better things. However, there needs to be some time to think about what went wrong so that the same mistakes don’t happen again.
After spending a lot of money on players in both transfer windows, Chelsea’s large group has been seen as a big reason for their terrible season. Still, Kemi Ashefon had ranked each player based on what was expected of them at the start of the season or when they signed.
Most of the time, it comes down to who has been the least bad, but let’s get into it.
32. Gabriel Slonina: N/A
Slonina has only been a member of the Blues since January. He moved from the Chicago Fire to the Blues in the summer. The 19-year-old hasn’t played for Chelsea’s first team yet, but he has been playing in Premier League 2, where his hard work has been impressive.
At the Under-20 World Cup in Argentina, where the USMNT’s talent is playing, he has kept four clean sheets in as many games. One to keep in mind.
31. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 2/10
The player brought in to help Chelsea score more goals barely touched the ball all season. Things started badly when Thomas Tuchel, the boss who hired him, was fired a week later. Who knows what went on behind the scenes, but in the end, neither Graham Potter nor Frank Lampard trusted Aubameyang.
He was left off the Champions League team to make room for the new players in January, and will leave the club having scored only one Premier League goal.
30. Denis Zakaria, 2/10
Zakaria knew he was in trouble when he had to wait until late December to make his Premier League debut because both Tuchel and Potter were hesitant for one reason or another to put him in the game.
Even so, there were brief times when it looked like Zakaria’s loan from Juventus to Chelsea would succeed and he would move there permanently. In the end, though, it was a bust because an illness cut his season short.
29. Christian Pulisic: 2 out of 10
Reflecting on Pulisic’s season, I realize how disappointing it was. The USMNT’s star player, who was expected to be a hero by this point in his career, only played for 1,012 minutes all season.
Even though he had a knee injury that messed up his season, none of the three coaches he played for in 2022–23 thought he was good enough to start every game. This summer, he will have a clearer idea of what he wants to do with his life.
28. Hakim Ziyech, 2/10
As Ziyech went into his third season at Stamford Bridge, no one had high hopes for him, and the 2022–23 season was the worst of the three. The Moroccans only played 928 minutes in all events. His slow style of play didn’t fit well with the rest of the club’s problems, and neither the fans nor the coaches liked him.
The winger’s bad luck got even worse when a loan move to Paris Saint-Germain in January fell through at the last minute because of a mistake on Chelsea’s end. He’ll hope he can finally get away this summer when the club gets rid of old players.
27. N’Golo Kante, 3/10
No matter how well-known you are, missing such a big chunk of the season will always be a huge loss. Kante had been dealing with nagging injuries for a while, but this season, a serious hamstring injury kept him out of action from August until April, and a groin injury stopped him from returning.
Even when he was briefly on the field, Kante was one of Chelsea’s best players. However, his health problems are a big reason he might not be remembered as one of the best defensive midfielders ever.
26- Edouard Mendy: 3 out of 10
Let’s say that Mendy’s season hasn’t gone as planned. The goalie who saved Chelsea in the Champions League made many mistakes at the beginning of the season, most notably against Leeds, and was then cut. He came back for three straight league losses, but he hurt his shoulder, which gave Kepa Arrizabalaga the chance to take over as the top goalkeeper.
At the end of the season, Lampard chose to bring him back for the game against Nottingham Forest. However, he made another mistake and was cut again. As the Blues look for a new first-choice goalie this summer, he may leave the team.
25- Marcus Bettinelli, 3/10
The life of a third-choice goalie is strange, but Bettinelli would have liked to have done more in 2022–23 than he could. The 31-year-old didn’t play for the first team and was hurt for most of the second half of the season.
Still, the club gave him a new deal in March so that he would stay as the No. 3 player.
24- Armando Broja, 3/10
Broja’s score is low even though he hasn’t done anything wrong. In his few Premier League minutes before the World Cup, the scorer got a great goal against Wolves and helped against Manchester United.
Broja’s season was cut short when he tore his ACL in a meaningless mid-season friendly against Aston Villa in Abu Dhabi. Not many people have said it, but Chelsea could have used him as a backup in the second half of the season.
23- Cesar Azpilicueta, 3/10
Most people at Chelsea Football Club wanted Azpilicueta to stay when his contract was almost up, and he was close to going to Barcelona but looking back, they probably would have been better off saying goodbye.
After much back-and-forth, the long-time Spanish player finally got a two-year contract. However, when he played in 2022 and 2023, he looked past his prime and was a big step down from the often-missing Reece James.
22- David Datro Fofana, 3/10
Fofana should have been sent out on loan when he got to Stamford Bridge.
The club wanted to sign him after he scored many goals for Molde in Norway. However, the 20-year-old has had difficulty adjusting to the Premier League, which makes sense.
The scorer has shown glimpses of his great ability, but he hasn’t scored a goal for his new team yet, and Potter and Lampard had a hard time fitting him into their teams because they had so many players.
21- Kalidou Koulibaly, 3/10
What was meant to be a sure thing for former Napoli star Koulibaly has become anything but.
When he joined Thiago Silva at Chelsea last summer, they were thought to have one of the best defenses in the world. However, he has had difficulty adjusting to English football and has made several high-profile mistakes.
So, his position at Stamford Bridge is already in doubt, even though the player himself seems eager to make up for it next season.
20- Marc Cucurella, 3/10
Was Cucurella worth about £63 million (about $79 million)? The short answer is no or probably not, and this season proved true. But it was always doubtful that a defender could support such a high price, and Cucurella sometimes didn’t help his case.
On multiple occasions, the fullback’s defensive decisions were questioned, and he didn’t show the kind of offensive drive that made him an amazing player at Brighton under Potter.
19– Mykhailo Mudryk, 3/10
Chelsea fans have seen this before: a highly-rated forward comes to the club for a lot of money, but as soon as they puts on the blue shirt, they forget how to play football. In the recent past, it has happened many times.
Mudryk showed signs of his obvious talent after his £88.5 million ($108.3 million) move from Shakhtar Donetsk in January. Still, for every good moment, there was a huge miss, a bad pass, or an unremarkable showing. One thing in the winger’s favor is that he hadn’t played a meaningful game in over a month before getting there. Still, everyone will hope for a much better season next year.
18- Mason Mount: 4 out of 10
Mount had set a high standard with incredible steadiness since making his first-team debut in 2019. However, in 2022–23, he and most teammates were way off. The midfielder’s work ethic and dedication were never in question. Even though he never found his best form, he still helped score nine goals before an injury out of character ended his season early.
This may be his last effort, which makes this setback even worse. The player will hope that his luck will change when he moves from Stamford Bridge to Old Trafford in the summer.
17- Carney Chukwuemeka, 4/10
Chukwuemeka would always have to wait for his chance after Chelsea signed him from Aston Villa last summer. They did this right after he played well for England at the U19 European Championship.
But the attacking midfielder hasn’t been able to blow anyone away. This is because each Chelsea boss has been afraid to give young players a long run in the team because of the team’s overall problems. Instead, they’ve put their faith in more experienced players. Chukwuemeka will do more in the future.
16- Reece James: 4 out of 10.
James is a great player when he is on his game, but this season was another very difficult one for the fullback. Knee and hip injuries kept getting in the way, and even when he was available, it felt like he was getting back to his best before another health problem hit.
James is probably Chelsea’s best player, but he and the club will not want this to be the story of his career. All he has to do next season is stay healthy.
15- Kai Havertz, 4/10
As a center striker in 2022–23, Havertz continued to look good but scored a few goals for Chelsea, which was one of the reasons why he was cut. The German barely made it into double digits for goals, but a positional identity crisis has made it hard for him to reach the heights that a player with his skills should be able to reach.
Fans will still want him to succeed even though he is only 23, but their patience is running thin with a man in whom they invested so much money three years ago.
14- Wesley Fofana: 4 out of 10
When Chelsea spent £75 million (£94 million) on Fofana last summer, they knew they were putting money into young talent. However, Fofana had difficulty maintaining that trust in a poor first season.
A bad knee injury at the wrong time didn’t help him, and in the months after he came back, the ex-Leicester player looked shaky and made a few big mistakes, but the team’s trust had already been shaken.
Fofana is a good buy for the future, but Pochettino will expect a lot more from him when the new season starts.
13- Mateo Kovacic, 5/10
Kovacic’s Chelsea career has been full of ups and downs, and what could be his last season was no different. As usual, there were moments of genius, like his two goals for the season and spontaneous first-time shots showing off his technical skill.
However, misplaced passes and erratic dribbles that didn’t get him anywhere overshadowed these occasions.
Most of the time, he was just a working part of the Chelsea team. Since he is almost ready to move to Manchester City, it is probably time for the Blues to let him go.
12- Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 5/10
Like Kovacic, Loftus-Cheek is a defender who didn’t do much at either end of the field, even though he got the steady playing time he’s always wanted during his long career at Chelsea. He was a team player and often filled in for James at wing-back when he wasn’t there. After a good start that made people think he might be called up for the World Cup, his season went downhill as the team’s problems worsened.
Loftus-Cheek is now on display, and AC Milan is especially interested in him. It wouldn’t be surprising if his unfulfilling time at Stamford Bridge ended quietly.
11- Raheem Sterling: 5/10
Sterling had a strange season. He was in and out of the team because of injuries that were out of character and made him less useful. Still, he was one of several Chelsea forwards who underperformed even when they were healthy, though he still helped score 13 goals in all categories.
At times, he was Chelsea’s best player and seemed to be the only one who could win the game, but at other times, he really failed and was even booed by his fans when he was used as a false nine against Brighton and two center-backs over six feet tall.
10- Trevoh Chalobah: 6/10
After a late-breaking-out season in 2022–23, Chalobah had a harder time this year in a tough season for everyone. But Chalobah has continued to show what a good player he is, even after Fofana and Koulibaly joined the team. As a result, he has been given regular playing time.
Even though it’s clear he’s still learning, the 23-year-old finished well. He filled in at right back for a hurt James and gave Azpilicueta a younger option. His future is unclear, but he is one of the few people who has mostly stood tall.
9- Benoit Badiashile: 6 out of 10
Badiashile didn’t seem like a likely choice for Chelsea’s signing of the season award when he made a good start at Stamford Bridge after moving from Monaco in January. But after his first three league games, he helped the team keep three clean sheets. After Lampard took over, he lost some of his form and didn’t play as much.
There is a clear promise, and Badiashile is a good choice as a left-sided center back in a back three. Once his confidence is back, he will look like a different player, like many others.
8- Lewis Hall, 6/10
Hall keeps taking every chance he gets by the scruff of the neck and doing his best to make a difference. It doesn’t always work out, but all you can ask of an 18-year-old school graduate is that they try, and Hall has done that in spades.
Potter and Lampard gave the flexible midfielder/left-back chances, which he used to play important minutes and perform well against both Manchester teams.
7- Joao Felix, 6/10
Felix was supposed to be a game-changing signing for Chelsea. He was one of the few attackers to show that he could score goals, but his overall impact was not what was expected from a player with his skills, though it would have taken a lot for him to get his team to play better as a whole.
Felix was sometimes Chelsea’s best player, and during his short stay at the club, he scored close to a quarter of their 18 Premier League goals. But even though he was a bright spot, he often played too much when the Blues needed to focus on the basics. He would have been a major threat if Chelsea had been in good shape.
6- Ben Chilwell, 6/10
After an injury-plagued season in 2021–22, Chilwell had problems with his health again this season, but he was able to play enough games to show how important he is to the club.
Chilwell was at his best before and after a hamstring injury that kept him from playing in the World Cup, but the same injury would end his season. Like his fellow fullback, James, the 26-year-old needs to stay in shape for Chelsea to be at their best.
5- Kepa Arrizabalaga: 7/10
A comeback that not many people would have thought would happen before the first ball was hit. Kepa claimed the No. 1 shirt after Mendy got hurt early in the season, and he showed why Chelsea tried so hard to get him all those years ago. His stupid double saves against Aston Villa will be remembered for a long.
In a strange twist, this could be Kepa’s last game for Chelsea since Pochettino is looking for a new long-term No. 1. At least, after everything that has happened, he will end his life on a personal high note.
4- Conor Gallagher: 7 out of 10
Gallagher deserved his chance at Chelsea after a great loan stint with Crystal Palace in south London, but for long stretches of this season, it didn’t look like he was ready for the next level.
But, thanks to the midfielder’s determination and “never give up” attitude, he worked his way back and became one of Lampard’s most important players. He hopes that Pochettino will help him get back on track.
3- Noni Madueke: 7/10
As one of Chelsea’s less important January signings, Madueke wasn’t expected to make a big difference immediately. He came from PSV in the Dutch Eredivisie, which has been a big jump for many players in the past.
But once he got used to the Premier League, Madueke was one of the Blues’ best players in the last few games. He scored his first goal at Arsenal and terrorized Bournemouth’s defense in a much-needed win.
2- Enzo Fernandez, 7/10
Fernandez is one of those players whose skill shows that statistics don’t tell the whole story. Since joining Chelsea from Benfica in January for a record-breaking £106 million, he hasn’t scored a goal and has only had two assists, but he’s been their most consistent player since then, starting every game.
Enzo is only 22 years old but has a lot of classes. His skill and ability to play the ball show that he will be one of the best at his position in the future. He hasn’t always done a good job on defense, so Pochettino is already looking for a No. 6 to add to his skills.
1- Thiago Silva, 8/10
Where would Chelsea be if Thiago didn’t play there? Even though the experienced defender didn’t have a great season, he was still their most important player during many tough times in 2022–23, and the team’s performance went down when he was out with an illness from February to April.
Thiago was the man for every situation once again. He made last-ditch tackles, key blocks, and amazing goal-line clearances. In the Premier League, he had the most saves (34), clearances (109), individual duels (112), and shots stopped (29).
Since the club isn’t likely to get any more defenders and the current backline needs to be reorganized and pumped up, the 38-year-old’s knowledge will be very helpful as the club goes through a huge time of change.
