Can Chelsea Dominate the Next Decade? Enzo Maresca Makes a Bold Claim | OneFootball

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has once again played down any talk of his side being title contenders this week, saying they are building for success in the future instead of this season. However, he did leave us wondering: Can Chelsea dominate the next decade?

Just this season, there has been plenty of speculation around their potential title credentials after an impressive start to the season, which sees them sitting 2nd in the table after 15 games.

Can Chelsea Dominate the Next Decade?

When it came to downplaying their chances this season, Maresca instead elaborated on their future targets, stating that “because of the age and how good the squad is, Chelsea in the next five to ten years will be the team or one of the teams to dominate English football.”

It’s a huge claim from the Italian considering Chelea’s domestic form since the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital takeover from Roman Abramovich back in May 2022. They have spent over one billion pounds on transfers in that time whilst only managing 12th and 6th place finishes in the last two seasons.

Many football fans will make the argument that Chelsea should be challenging for titles with the money they have spent. It’s a valid observation, and their success over the coming seasons with those young players they paid huge fees for will ultimately decide how that spending spree is looked back upon in the future.

The overhaul of the squad has left only three pre-takeover first team players intact in Reece James, Ben Chilwell, and Marcus Bettinelli. It was a big risk to break up an experienced squad that won the Champions League together in favour of signing young talent that had to be nurtured. This approach definitely took time and had to endure many tough spells over the last couple of years but it does seem to be starting to click for the Blues this season. The burning question will be what level these players can reach as a team as they continue to mature and play together.

There are many factors that illustrate encouraging signs that Chelsea can get back to the summit of English football in the coming years that’s certainly worth exploring to see if there is weight to Maresca’s claims.

Youthful Exuberance

One of the biggest talking points of the Premier League season so far has been the decline in both performance and results of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Aside from injuries, one of the main reasons for their slump is believed to be time catching up with an aging squad. Manchester City’s squad ranks as the 17th oldest in the Premier League with an average age of 27.0.

In contrast, Chelsea rank as the youngest, with their squad having an average age of 23.4. As Maresca alluded to, this is hugely encouraging for such a young squad to be thriving this season and bodes well for the future, and they continue to play together. Many of the players are yet to reach their peak, which makes it clear to see why there may be exciting times ahead for the London club before even considering further recruitment.

The current spine of the team, consisting of players such as Colwill, Caicedo, Palmer, and Jackson, is all under the age of 24. Palmer has been a revelation for the Blues since signing for Manchester City, scoring 22 league goals last season, and has continued that form into this campaign. There was perhaps a reliance on the talismanic Palmer at times last term, but many players have improved this season to help ease the workload on the 22-year-old. Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, and Nicolas Jackson have all been superb this season after initially struggling at the beginning of their Chelsea careers.

The youngest ever squad to win the Premier League was Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in the 2004/05 season, with an average age of 25 years and 250 days. This squad went on to be a dominant force in English football in the decade that followed, and Maresca will be hoping that he can reproduce that feat with another young squad in the years to come. If this Chelsea team is bridging the gap between them and the league’s three best teams, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal, whilst being the youngest squad in the Premier League, then it definitely gives a concrete basis to Maresca’s comments on how strong they can be in the future.

Maresca’s Impact

The way in which Maresca has managed the Blues since taking charge in the summer will also back up his beliefs of success, as he himself has contributed greatly to their resurgence. Although Mauricio Pochettino ended last season strongly as Chelsea manager and can feel aggrieved to an extent at his dismissal, it can’t be ignored how well Enzo Maresca has adapted into a difficult coaching environment.

Many issues last season stemmed from trying to manage the excessive squad size and find a team that could play consistently well together. Maresca addressed this issue immediately, as he quickly chose what players he believed suited his vision after his arrival and told the rest that they weren’t in his plans going forward. Cold as it may sound, it’s exactly what Chelsea needed in order to build a squad going forward, even if it has come at the expense of seasoned players like Raheem Sterling or Ben Chilwell.

This mentality to succeed even if it means alienating certain players has proved to be a great decision in keeping a professional focus within the squad. Maresca has one of the deepest squads in the league at his disposal, but his ability to find the perfect balance in keeping everyone happy has been paramount for the Blues this season. Their participation in the Europa League has been an extremely useful outlet to give squad players vital minutes whilst offering them the opportunity to impress, creating healthy competition for places within the club.

The mood of the club certainly suffered in recent times, with players not being happy with decisions made within the club’s hierarchy. This translated onto the pitch at times with players fighting over who would take penalties and arguing amongst themselves when losing. There is a much more united front both on and off the pitch this season. This has largely been down to Maresca’s approach, and it has certainly been a huge reason for how well the team is performing with no headlines of discontent within the squad overshadowing the football.

Maresca’s style of play has also been extremely effective for Chelsea this season. Some elements of his tactics have been the pressing from the front high up the pitch as a unit, which has ultimately led to many errors on the opponent’s behalf, which they have been able to take advantage of. This has often resulted in goals or big chances being created due to the volume of players up the pitch following the turnover rather than leaving any player isolated to press the ball.

Maresca also has the wingers holding their positions out wide so that more space can be created in the centre of the pitch, which has helped Palmer and Jackson immensely in achieving their attacking output this season. This has also unlocked Enzo Fernandez, who is now joining more attacks from central midfield and is thriving in a more advanced role when they are in possession. Maresca implementing a style of play at Stamford Bridge has been vital to Chelsea’s good fortune and bodes well for the upcoming seasons. This identity they are building with their young squad has been sorely missed over the last few seasons and is paramount to any future success.

The trajectory the team has shown this season under the guidance of Maresca gives fuel to his claims that they can once again be a force in English football. The Blues have been free-scoring this term and have only tasted defeat against Manchester City and Liverpool, winning nine and drawing four of their other thirteen games. It’s a sizable improvement, as they were dropping points last season against many of those teams they are beating this year.

Competing with the best teams in the division has also been really important for their progress. They are proving themselves to be really difficult to play against for the top teams.  They recently secured a 1-1 draw with Arsenal, which is a huge contrast from losing 5-0 to the Gunners in their last league meeting, which highlights their progress in closing the gap to the league’s strongest sides. Maresca could be right that the title challenge may well come too soon for them this season but they are certainly building towards that level based off results this season under his mentorship.

Recruiting for Future Success

Ever since Boehly and Clearlake’s takeover of Chelsea, they have been judged to be careless in the market, spending over a billion pounds while failing to secure Champions League football. That criticism can certainly be justified based on their performance over the previous two seasons. However, their shift towards buying promising talents rather than ready-made players comes at a risk but has huge upside if the project is carried out successfully and the players can reach their full potential.

Many clubs scouting networks will be hard at work identifying some of the strongest up-and-coming talents from around the world in order to get ahead in the coming transfer windows. South America has been a hub for outstanding young footballing talents emerging in previous years, and Chelsea have excelled in taking advantage, securing the signings of three youngsters tipped to have huge careers in the game. Estevao Willian, Kendry Paez, and Aaron Anselmino are all due to arrive at Stamford Bridge in July 2025.

Estevao Willian is one of the most exciting youngsters to break through in South American football in recent times. The Palmeiras winger has been instrumental to his side’s attack since making his debut, scoring 13 goals and providing 9 assists in just 30 league games, averaging a goal contribution every 156 minutes. It’s extremely impressive stats for a 17-year-old who has already appeared 4 times for the Brazilian national team. Estevao joining the ranks of Chelsea’s already scintillating attack could bring them to another level in the future, as he is highly regarded as one of the best young talents in world football right now.

Chelsea signed Kendry Paez from Independiente del Valle. The 17-year-old has already been capped 17 times at senior level for Ecuador.   He featured for them in the Copa America in the summer, where he became the competition’s youngest scorer in the 21st century after netting against Jamaica. This tournament will serve as vital experience if he is to adapt quickly to English football. The young midfielder who excels at dribbling has struggled at times for minutes for his club this term, but there is plenty of potential if he can rediscover the form that saw a host of clubs vying for his signature before Chelsea eventually won the race.

They have also signed 19-year-old centre back Aaron Anselmino from Boca Juniors. The young defender is a towering presence at 6 feet 2 inches with strong aerial prowess and solid one-on-one defending. Anselmino could be a staple in Chelsea’s defence over the next decade if he can continue his development at the highest level.

These three talents will be incredibly valuable additions to an already exciting young core the Blues have built. Naturally, questions will still remain about how they will adapt to Premier League football after arriving from South America, but the fact that Chelsea now seem to have a stable environment will greatly help their integration. Each of these players possesses immense potential, and if they can excel immediately in a Chelsea shirt, it’s unlikely that Chelsea won’t emerge as title contenders in the near future.

Brazilian Andrey Santos will also be returning to London in July after a loan spell at Strasbourg, where he has been a mainstay for Strasbourg. The French side have offered him a chance to get valuable first team minutes after an unsuccessful loan spell at Nottingham Forest last season where he failed to get any real game time to help his development. The midfielder has taken full advantage of the opportunity, appearing 23 times for the Ligue 1 outfit and scoring 6 times. He can certainly be a player that can bolster Chelsea’s midfield options for next season.

Chelsea will need to be astute with their transfer business in the summer window, but with the abundance of talent that will already be arriving, it will definitely be an exciting time for Chelsea fans, provided they can finish this season well. They have been a step ahead of many other elite clubs in securing the signatures of these prodigious young players, so they may be rewarded over the coming decade as a result if they can reach their potential.

Biggest Competitors

If Chelsea are to dominate in the coming years, then they will have to surpass Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal. Liverpool’s outlook for the next few years is heavily dependent on the outcome of the contract situations of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, and Trent Alexander Arnold, as they are all such integral players.

Although the uncertainty over their futures hasn’t shown any signs of affecting the team this season whatsoever under Arne Slot with them holding a four-point lead at the top of the table with a game in hand. Naturally, if any of those three players were to depart Anfield, then it would be extremely difficult to find replacements of similar quality given how instrumental they have been in the recent success of the club.

Manchester City’s dip in form this season will be hugely encouraging for their competitors, but they can’t be written off, especially when Pep Guardiola has signed on for another two seasons to oversee a rebuild to get back to winning ways.

The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, and Ederson are all being tipped to depart in the summer, so much like Liverpool, the level of recruitment in the summer will be absolutely pivotal to their title chances next season and beyond. It does mark a potential period of transition for these clubs, which Chelsea may be able to advantage from if they can continue to improve and recruit well in the summer to bring them to the next level.

Arsenal possess a strong spine to their team with Raya, Gabriel, Saliba, Rice, Odegaard, and Saka. Maresca has used Arsenal’s growth under Arteta as an example for his Chelsea side, believing that they can follow that model in order to grow gradually to competing at the top of the table. After only narrowly missing out on the title for the last couple of seasons, the Gunners should continue to compete in the coming years with this core. If Arsenal can secure a prolific striker in the summer, then there is no doubt that they will be one of Chelsea’s biggest obstacles if they are to be a dominant force in English football.

Teams like Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs will also be hoping to challenge for league titles in the coming years. However, Chelsea are showing signs this season that they are closer than the rest to bridging the gap to the top. It is absolutely vital that Chelsea secure Champions League football this season to help them financially, but mainly if they have aspirations of getting back to competing at the top. This will give them the opportunity to come up against the best sides from around Europe, which can only be an advantage in getting back to where they want to be.

A Team Effort

Chelsea have built up a reputation during the Roman Abramovich era of changing managers frequently, which did in fact work during those times. Many of those outstanding Chelsea teams had a strong core of experienced players, which isn’t the case anymore. Since Clearlake’s takeover, Maresca is the sixth manager to take charge at Stamford Bridge, which isn’t helpful when trying navigate a project and build a young squad for future success

The owners and board must now allow Maresca sufficient time to further develop this current squad, rather than acting hastily at the first sign of a slump. There is serious potential for this current Chelsea squad to once again reach the summit of English football during the next decade, but just like the players and staff, the club will have to play their part in achieving that goal.