Chelsea captain Reece James has been pretty honest with his assessment of the Blues’ season.
Chelsea have had a campaign to forget, finishing 10th in the Premier League table after losing to Sunderland in the final round of fixtures.
There will be no European football at Stamford Bridge next season, not even Conference League football.
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Players of Chelsea form a huddle
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
The Club World Cup holders were also beaten by Manchester City in the FA Cup final, finishing the year trophyless.
James has now made it clear that there needs to be a review of what went wrong.
Speaking to Chelsea’s official club website following his side’s defeat to Sunderland, the defender said: “We need to digest this season. It’s been far below our standards and we need to review and see where we can improve for next time.”
In total, James managed to make 39 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea. It is at least one positive for the club after all of the injuries that the right-back has suffered in the past.
Hopefully he can stay fit throughout the entire 2026/27 campaign, which would be a huge boost for Xabi Alonso.
Where Chelsea need to improve next season
As the Chelsea players review this season, some common themes are going to come up. For example, players being sent off.
Chelsea received 11 red cards in all competitions, which is simply too many. Wesley Fofana’s one at the Stadium of Light was their final of the campaign and the second he has picked up.
At this stage, Chelsea should think about offloading Fofana. His discipline and defending have not been good enough.
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Trevoh Chalobah of Chelsea celebrates scoring his team's first goal with teammate Wesley Fofana
Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Chelsea’s defending as a whole has not been up to standard and is another area they have to work on next term.
After the first goal that Sunderland scored against the Blues, it is quite clear that Alonso will have to address the team’s defence. There are a lot of issues in this Chelsea side right now, and if they do review the season, the players are going to see that.
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