Of the pitch, the 2021-2022 season was a hugely disrupted one for Chelsea, largely owing to the fact that Roman Abramovich was effectively forced to sell the club in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Having attempted to buy it from the Russian for $3 billion a few years earlier, Todd Boehly returned in the March of 2022 alongside Mark Walter, Hansjörg Wyss and Clearlake Capital, looking to take advantage of the situation. The takeover was completed for around £4 billion on the 30th of May, meaning that the massive disruption taking place in the Chelsea boardroom was largely avoided in terms of things on the pitch.
In that sense, the club enjoyed some big successes. Chelsea reached the final of the FA Cup and the final of the League Cup, losing to Liverpool on both occasions thanks to penalty shoot-outs after goalless draws in the two matches. It was on the international stage where Chelsea’s performance was more impressive, with the club defeating Villarreal in order to win the UEFA Super Cup. Chelsea also won the FIFA Club World Cup thanks to victories over Al Hilal in their semi-final match and then a 2-1 win over Brazilian side Palmeiras in the final. Though they were knocked out in the quarter-final of the Champions League, they finished third in the Premier League.
Transfers
Things were relatively quiet for Chelsea on a transfer front in the 2021-2022 campaign, with just seven players being brought in permanently between the summer and winter windows. It was on the departure front that things were a little busier, as Thomas Tuchel looked to trim his squad down as much as possible. That was partly due to the fact that Romelu Lukaku was signed from Inter Milan for £97.5 million, meaning that there was a need to get some money in and clear some wages off the books. The likes of Kurt Zouma, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori certainly helped on that front.
Transfers In
Here is a look at all of the players that Chelsea signed in the summer of 2021 and winter of 2022, complete with the club that they were signed from and the amount that was paid, if known:
| Player | Signed From | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Jayden Wareham | Woking | Free Transfer |
| Marcus Bettinelli | Fulham | Free Transfer |
| Romelu Lukaku | Inter Milan | £97.5 million |
| Bradley Ryan | Welling United | Free Transfer |
| Travis Akomeah | Watford | Free Transfer |
| Dylan Williams | Derby County | Undisclosed Amount |
| Mason Barstow | Charlton Athletic | Undisclosed Amount |
In addition to the permanent signings listed above, Chelsea also paid a £4.5 million loan fee to Atlético Madrid in order to bring the Spanish player Saùl in on loan at the end of August.
Transfers Out
Whilst things were relatively quiet on the transfers in front, albeit with the nearly £100 million signing of Romelu Lukaku to contend with, things weren’t quite as muted when it came to the outs. Here is a look at the players that departed Chelsea on a permanent basis in the summer of 2021 and winter of 2022:
| Player | Sold To | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Pierre Ekwah Elimby | West Ham United | £1.26 million |
| Danilo Pantić | Partizan | Free Transfer |
| Marco van Ginkel | PSV Eindhoven | Free Transfer |
| Jamal Blackman | Los Angeles FC | Free Transfer |
| Willy Cabellero | Southampton | Free Transfer |
| Filip Lissah | Swansea City | Free Transfer |
| Zane Myers | Swansea City | Free Transfer |
| David Roberts | Swansea City | Free Transfer |
| Fikayo Tomori | Milan | £26.8 million |
| Jack Wakely | Wycombe Wanderers | Free Transfer |
| Charlie Wiggett | Newcastle United | Undisclosed Amount |
| Dubem Eze | Derby County | Free Transfer |
| Marcel Lewis | Union SG | Free Transfer |
| Finley Monroe | Aston Villa | Free Transfer |
| Izzy Brown | Preston North End | Free Transfer |
| Kyrell Wilson | Swansea City | Free Transfer |
| Luke McCormick | AFC Wimbledon | Free Transfer |
| Victor Moses | Spartak Moscow | £4.5 million |
| Olivier Giroud | Milan | £900,000 |
| Marc Guéhi | Crystal Palace | £21 million |
| Jon Russell | Huddersfield Town | Free Transfer |
| Lewis Bate | Leeds United | £1.58 million |
| Myles Peart-Harris | Brentford | £1.35 million |
| Dynel Simeu | Southampton | £1.58 million |
| Aleksi Heino | VfL Wolfsburg | Undisclosed Amount |
| Tino Livramento | Southampton | £5.31 million |
| Tammy Abraham | Roma | £36 million |
| David Zappacosta | Atlanta | £8.1 million |
| Ike Ugbo | Genk | £3.15 million |
| Kurt Zouma | West Ham United | £31.5 million |
| Declan Frith | Aston Villa | Free Transfer |
| Bradley Ryan | Ramsgate | Free Transfer |
| Lewis Baker | Stoke City | Undisclosed Amount |
| Tariq Uwakwe | Crewe Alexandria | Undisclosed Amount |
Having spent more than £100 million bringing in Romelu Lukaku and loaning in Saùl, Chelsea need to recoup some money and sold around £132 million worth of talent in order to balance the books where possible. The club also saw as many as 22 players loaned out in the summer and another seven loaned out during the winter transfer window.
2021-2022 Chelsea Squad
Chelsea’s summer transfer activity was muted in terms of incomings and busy as far as out-goings were concerned, so the squad came together nicely for a season that saw the club competing on several different fronts. Here is what the first-team squad looked like for the campaign:
| Player | Number | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edouard Mendy | 16 | Senegal | Goalkeeper |
| Kepa Arrizabalaga | 1 | Spain | Goalkeeper |
| Antonio Rudiger | 2 | Germany | Centre-Back |
| Thiago Silva | 6 | Braazil | Centre-Back |
| Trevor Chalobah | 14 | England | Centre/Right-Back, Defensive Midfield |
| Ben Chilwell | 21 | England | Left-Back |
| Reece James | 24 | England | Right-Back |
| Marco Alonso | 3 | Spain | Right-Back |
| César Azpilicueta | 28 | Spain | Right-Back |
| Malang Sarr | 31 | France | Defender |
| Emerson | 33 | Italy | Defender |
| Jorginho | 5 | Italy | Defensive Midfield |
| N’Golo Kante | 7 | France | Defensive Midfield |
| Mateo Kovačić | 8 | Croatia | Defensive Midfield |
| Ruben Loftus-Cheek | 12 | England | Midfield |
| Saúl Ñiguez | 17 | Spain | Midfield |
| Ross Barkley | 18 | England | Midfield |
| Mason Mount | 19 | England | Midfield |
| Romelu Lukaku | 9 | Belgium | Forward |
| Timo Werner | 11 | Germany | Forward |
| Christian Pulisic | 10 | United States of America | Forward |
| Callum Hudson-Odoi | 20 | England | Forward |
| Kenedy | 23 | Brazil | Forward |
| Hakim Ziyech | 22 | Morocco | Forward |
| Kai Havertz | 29 | Germany | Forward |
Kit & Sponsor
Chelsea played in the club’s standard blue kit for the 2021-2022 campaign, which was produced by Nike and sponsored by the mobile phone company 3.
The club’s second kit was yellow with black lines across it, whilst the third kit was black with turquoise patches and red trim.
The goalkeeper kit was grey, with the second goalkeeper kit being best described as highlighter green and the third a bright, patchy orange. As with the first kit, all were manufactured by Nike and sponsored by 3.