Frank Lampard’s first season as Chelsea manager is seen as something of a free hit, as he deals with the departure of Eden Hazard and a two-window transfer ban.
Lampard’s mantra so far has been to give “youth a chance,’ demonstrated by giving regular starts to the likes of Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham during the opening weeks of the season.
Your start to life as Chelsea boss may not be so difficult on FIFA 20 as we expect that you will be able to make transfers in your first season in 20 Career Mode.
This leaves you with a pivotal question – will you follow in Lampard’s footsteps and rely on youth or instigate a big-money squad overhaul to soothe the loss of Eden Hazard?
RealSport looks at how you can navigate career mode playing as Chelsea.
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Strengths
Lampard hasn’t looked to youth for no reason: Chelsea have a fantastic crop of young players that you can develop into Premier League stars. The new dynamic potential feature means that you can influence their growth with good performances on the field.
Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi are the obvious future stars, but the likes of Reece James and Fikayo Tomori are also well worth a look at.
Another strength is having N’Golo Kante in your side, no other player in the game balances such fantastic mobility and defensive ability. He’s one to build the side around.
Weaknesses
Chelsea’s main weakness, much like their strength, may also come through their youth. This is simply because their young players won’t initially rate as high as other big six starters. While Hudson-Odoi and Mount will have great potential, it may be difficult to use them against the big boys in your first couple of seasons.
And then what of the attack? Christian Pulisic is a useful addition, but he’s certainly not Eden Hazard yet. With Willian and Pedro now both in their 30s, this Hazard-less attack needs some serious energising.
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Key Questions
Where do you start with this attack? The only guaranteed starter should be new signing Christian Pulisic – with that in mind, do you spend big on another winger or a striker?
In terms of wingers, Pedro and Willian, at 32 and 31 years’ old, may be worth cashing in on. Callum Hudson-Odoi is expected to have one of the highest potentials in the game, but with a predicted rating in the mid-to-high 70s, is he ready to start yet?
In terms of strikers, Chelsea currently have Michy Batshuayi, Olivier Giroud and Tammy Abraham. Abraham should be rated in the mid-to-high 70s, and the other two will be slightly over the 80 mark. This writer believes that your first priority should be selling one or two of these players to bring in a top-class centre forward.
Then, who plays at the base of midfield? The issue with Chelsea’s high managerial turnover is that the squad is littered with players brought in for different tactical systems. Perhaps the most glaring of these is Jorginho, who seems lost without Maurizio Sarri. You must decide whether to continue to play as Sarri did with Jorginho at the base of a three-man midfield, or use Kante at the base of a two-man pivot with a more offensive player alongside him.
Transfer Targets
We expect Chelsea’s budget to be just shy of £90 million.
The first difficulty you’ll face when revamping the forward line is the lack of available world-class strikers.
Timo Werner is a great option who can do some serious damage when getting in behind. If you fail to get him, look at Lyon’s Memphis Depay. You could also be bold and try and nick a rival player, such as Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino or Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus.
Another option is looking at a versatile forward who can play across the line. For this, look no further than Lorenzo Insigne or Wilfried Zaha.
Another pressing issue is left-back, considering that Marcos Alonso is out of his depth in a back four and is seemingly declining. Your first-choice should be Alex Sandro, but cheaper options are Porto’s Alex Telles or Benfica’s Alex Grimaldo.
If you want to add a top-class centre-back to play alongside Antonio Rudiger, Milan Skriniar and Samuel Umtiti are both good options who have plenty of years in them. Failing that, either of the RB Leipzig centre-back pairing, Ibrahima Konate and Dayot Upamecano, may be slightly cheaper options who could grow into fantastic players.
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Formations
The obvious formation would be a 4-2-3-1, as Lampard has used so far this season. You’re best bet is to drop Jorginho and use a midfield pivot of N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic. You’ll also face a decision on whether to use Mason Mount or Ross Barkley at CAM.
If you want to play Jorginho and continue to develop last season’s Sarri-ball, you can stick with a 4-3-3 but risk compromising Kante’s defensive abilities.
Or, you can throw it back to Antonio Conte’s 5-2-3, although it will probably mean buying a new RWB and playing Cesar Azpilicueta on the right side of a back-three.
How will you line up with Chelsea on FIFA 20? Let us know in the comments section below.
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