How To Improve Chelsea  (Sky Sports)

Chelsea secured a Premier League and Capital One Cup double in Jose Mourinho’s second season back at Stamford Bridge, but how can they improve for the 2015/16 campaign?

“If you’re not strengthening, you’re standing still.”

That was the verdict of Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness when he was asked how Chelsea can improve ahead of next season. The Blues are still basking in the glory of winning the Premier League title by an eight-point margin, but Souness insists there is work to be done this summer. With that in mind, Nick Wright looks at how Mourinho can take the champions to an even higher level...

Recruit another striker

One of the most surprising statistics from Chelsea’s Premier League campaign was that Didier Drogba featured in more games than Diego Costa over the season. Costa’s 20 goals in 26 appearances were key to their title triumph, but recurring hamstring problems and injuries to Loic Remy meant Mourinho had to rely on the 37-year-old Drogba far more than he would have liked. Indeed, Chelsea’s total of 73 goals this season was below the average of 80.45 for title-winning teams since the 1995/96 campaign.

“Didier Drogba found life tough when he got his games towards the end of the season,” Souness said of the Ivorian, who only scored once in his final 16 league appearances. “He found it a difficult league to play in at his age. With him going I think they need to get another striker and I’m sure he's going to address that. With Diego Costa, is his hamstring fully cleared up? He arrived with it and it seemed to be a problem for him throughout the season.”

Remy showed he can do a job with seven goals in 19 league appearances, but he isn’t close to Costa’s level and Mourinho must bring in another elite option. So, who could Chelsea target? Mauro Icardi of Inter Milan is one possibility. The Argentine has scored 29 goals in 57 Serie A games over the last two seasons and at 22, there would be plenty of room for improvement under Mourinho. Elsewhere, Alexandre Lacazette’s tally of 29 goals for Lyon in 2014/15 is unlikely to have gone unnoticed. The France international is only a year older than Icardi and can also play in wide positions. A more expensive option could be Gareth Bale. The Welshman is not a conventional striker, of course, but the Blues could pounce if Real Madrid show an inclination to sell.

Add squad depth

Chelsea lack depth in other areas, too, most notably in defence. Their back five of Thibaut Courtois, Branislav Ivanovic, Gary Cahill, John Terry and Cesar Azpilicueta is a formidable unit, but they are short on numbers beyond that. Petr Cech will need replacing, Kurt Zouma is still just 20 and Atletico Madrid are thought to be keen on re-signing Filipe Luis. Chelsea were lucky to avoid too many defensive injuries this season, but Terry will turn 35 in December, and another centre-back should be a priority.

Mourinho has never been one for heavy rotation, and the Portuguese only started 20 different players prior to wrapping up the title against Crystal Palace on May 3. He admits Chelsea were forced to adopt a “less artistic” approach in the second half of the season, but greater depth would have allowed him to conserve his key players’ energy and cope better when injuries and suspensions began to bite. Had it not been for their defensive resolve and the individual brilliance of Eden Hazard, their title challenge may have been derailed in the gruelling final months of the campaign.

Another area to look at is defensive midfield, where they lack cover for the brilliant Nemanja Matic. Zouma has shown promise in the position, but John Obi Mikel is no longer a trusted starter. A high-quality addition in that role could fill in for Matic in the case of injury or suspension, and could also be deployed alongside the Serb in big European and domestic games.

Promote youth

Mourinho could also enhance his squad by giving more opportunities to the talented crop of young players at his disposal. Chelsea have won four of the last six FA Youth Cups and their U19s are UEFA Youth League champions. Youth development does not feature heavily on Mourinho’s managerial CV, but he was clear about his intentions at the start of last season. “My conscience is simple. If, in a few years, (Lewis) Baker, (Isaiah) Brown and (Dominic) Solanke are not national team players, I should blame myself,” he said in July.

In fact, it is Ruben Loftus-Cheek who has shown the most first team promise having impressed on his first start against Liverpool in May. Brown, Solanke, Andreas Christensen and Nathan Ake have also made a handful of appearances, while Patrick Bamford could return to the fold following his impressive loan spell at Middlesbrough.

"Mourinho's big thing now is longevity at the club and to bring those young players through,” said Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville recently. "He has some fantastic young players. You cannot win four Youth Cups in six years and not bring a player through. Roman Abramovich is going to have to give Mourinho the confidence that it is not all about the immediate. That is Jose Mourinho's task moving forward, to stay at a club long enough and bring those players through."

Cut the complacency

Mourinho spent much of the 2013/14 season bemoaning his side’s inability to “kill” opponents as they fell short of winning the title, and it remains an area of concern. In the Premier League this season, only West Ham, Swansea, Leicester, Sunderland and Everton have lost more points from winning positions than Chelsea (15). By contrast, runners-up Manchester City lost just nine points from similar positions.

However, the most notable examples came in the cup competitions. Chelsea were two goals up at home to lowly Bradford City in the FA Cup fourth round but conceded four goals without reply as the League One side recorded one of the biggest cup upsets in recent history. Then there was their Champions League elimination by Paris Saint-Germain. Mourinho’s men couldn’t make the extra man count following Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s early sending off, and the French side equalised twice to go through on away goals.

"It was not good enough,” Mourinho said in his post-match press conference. “The game was in our hands twice. They coped better with the pressure of the game. Maybe with 10 men we felt even more pressure to win. They had nothing to lose. They were just playing that game. We felt that extra pressure and couldn't cope.” Chelsea did, however, show true grit to battle their way through the final months of the Premier League season. They will need more of the same next year.

Give Salah another shot

Of Chelsea’s army of on-loan players, there is one man who stands out. Mohamed Salah’s days at Stamford Bridge looked numbered when he joined Fiorentina on loan in January with Juan Cuadrado going the other way, but the Egyptian has shone in Serie A while the Colombian has struggled to adapt in west London.

“Who did better out of the Cuadrado exchange? Fiorentina earned a lot of money and, on the pitch, they are similar players." That was Fiorentina boss Vicenzo Montella’s assessment, and it is hard to disagree. Salah made just 10 starts for Chelsea following his £11m switch from Basel in January 2014, but he made an explosive impact at Fiorentina, showcasing blistering pace and clinical finishing as he netted six goals in his first seven appearances –including a stunning brace against Juventus. He also averaged more key passes per game (1.8) than any other Fiorentina player during his time there.

Salah finished the season with nine goals from 25 appearances, and Fiorentina are reportedly keen to make his stay permanent. But Salah has shown star quality and Mourinho hinted that the 22-year-old may yet have a Chelsea future back in March. "He's doing well with La Viola,” he said. “Let's hope that continues because it is just what we wanted when we sent him to Florence.” Mourinho demands tenacity and defensive dedication from his widemen, and Salah could be a valuable asset if he can be persuaded to buy into the manager’s philosophy.