Ben Chilwell, 23, has been Chelsea’s long-term target at left back and Frank Lampard has finally updated his defensive unit after plenty of time spent on boosting his attacking options.
Speaking about his arrival at Chelsea on a five-year contract, Ben Chilwell is delighted.
“I am delighted to be joining Chelsea at this very exciting time for the club. I’m looking forward to being a part of this young, dynamic squad led by Frank Lampard as we challenge for honours next season. I can’t wait to get started and hopefully it won’t be long before we’re playing in front of the Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge,” Chilwell said.
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia added the following on Chilwell.
“We are very pleased to have completed our third addition to our exciting squad for the coming season,” Granovskaia said. “Ben brings plenty of top-level experience playing in the Premier League, Champions League and at international level, despite his young age. We are confident Ben will adapt very quickly to being a Chelsea player and with the fixture programme for 2020/21 especially busy, he is a fantastic addition to the squad needed to challenge for honours.”
Chilwell will now be Chelsea’s left back for the next 10 years, as he is a big upgrade on Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmeri. Chilwell is a good defender and is very competent with the ball and going forward. He did have a dip in form in 2019-20, like most of Leicester’s squad, but his quality is clear.
Chelsea have already added Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech in attack and are expected to sign Kai Havertz in the coming days, plus veteran center back Thiago Silva. If all of that happens and Lampard is able to move players on, this will have been a transformation window for Chelsea.
It will also have been expensive one as close to $300 million will have been spent on Chilwell, Werner, Ziyech and Havertz but Lampard’s young squad needed refreshing after the transfer ban last year and no new arrivals in January 2020. Chelsea saved their cash to splash this summer.
.NBC