On paper, Chelsea easily have one of the best squads in the Premier League, a squad good enough to finish higher than 10th.
Unfortunately for Chelsea supporters, though, many of their players simply underperformed this season despite possessing a lot of ability.
With that in mind, The Chelsea Chronicle has ranked the Blues’ five biggest underperformers of the 2025/26 campaign.
What should Chelsea do with Wesley Fofana after his performance against Sunderland? 💭
Trevoh Chalobah of Chelsea celebrates scoring his team's first goal with teammate Wesley Fofana
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5. Marc Cucurella
Marc Cucurella went into this season with the reputation of being arguably the best left-back in the Premier League. However, under Liam Rosenior and Calum McFarlane, he looked anything but.
Several Chelsea players suffered after Enzo Maresca’s departure, with Cucurella perhaps being the biggest casualty.
The attacking threat and tenacious defending the Spaniard brought to the team last term made him a fan favourite, but that all disappeared post-Maresca.
4. Wesley Fofana
Wesley Fofana is one of the most expensive defenders in history after joining Chelsea from Leicester City in a £70m deal nearly four years ago.
At Leicester, he showed a lot of defensive ability, but Chelsea supporters have not seen that this season.
At this point, it is now time for Chelsea to consider selling Fofana. A fresh start could be good for everyone.
Sunderland v Chelsea - Premier League
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3. Alejandro Garnacho
Alejandro Garnacho has a lot of talent, which is why Chelsea signed him from Manchester United last summer. Yet the winger was only able to score one Premier League goal.
That is appalling for an attacker who has plenty of experience playing in this division.
2. Liam Delap
Chelsea supporters were expecting a lot from Liam Delap. He had a strong Premier League campaign at Ipswich Town, scoring 12 goals in 37 outings, and produced some very good moments in the Club World Cup.
Like Garnacho, though, he was also only able to muster up one league goal. For a striker at this level, that is unacceptable.
Who has been Chelsea’s biggest underperformer this season? ⬇️
Players of Chelsea form a huddle
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1. Cole Palmer
As we are talking about Chelsea’s biggest underperformer and not worst player, Cole Palmer has to come first.
His level has dropped so much that Thomas Tuchel did not even think he was worthy of an England call-up for the World Cup.
Palmer recorded 14 goal contributions, which is more than what some of Chelsea’s other attackers managed to produce. But last season his tally was 32 and the season before that 42!
Palmer played fewer games because of injuries, but there have been so many individuals performances that you could look at and say the former Manchester City man has simply not been at the required level.
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