FA Community Shield 2018: 5 talking points on Chelsea's performance

#4 Transfer market inactivity

Chelsea will need to sort out their transfer business quickly

If Chelsea has a challenging season ahead, one could always point out the lethargy in the transfer market as one of the reasons.

The nervousness began to set in with the long delay in getting Maurizio Sarri in as Chelsea's new manager. The manager joined on July 14, less than a month before Community Shield which would potentially have given him less time to evaluate the squad, introducing his philosophy in the team and would also be expected to remain competitive in the premier league.

Also with the season Chelsea just had (2017-18) which saw Chelsea finishing fifth, a whopping 30 points behind the winners Manchester City exposed the limitations of the Chelsea squad. Clearly, the team needed an injection of quality and the club so far has only managed to sign Jorginho who cannot be expected to bring through a revolution all by himself.

Chelsea needs reinforcements in midfield and forward positions and they need to act quick. However, Chelsea's biggest signing might be getting Eden Hazard tied down to a new contract with the Belgian linked with a move to Real Madrid.

The good news is that Hazard might finally decide to stay at Chelsea but with unpredictability being the second name of the football business, the celebration might have to wait.

Another major distraction has been the goalkeeper situation which still remains unclear with Thibaut Courtois possibly looking to move on. Chelsea's search for a replacement is still on and got a major blow when Alisson signed for Liverpool. With time running out and the shortage of quality replacements, the uncertainty is expected to remain until the last day of the transfer window.

History suggests that failures in transfer market can affect the chances of the team with the previous season and Mourinho's last season the instances which saw Chelsea falling behind their competitors.

Premier league is becoming more competitive with every passing season and Chelsea cannot afford to fall back again especially out of Champions league for another year.

Therefore, Chelsea needs to get this transfer window right if they want the upcoming season to be one of progress rather than drama and regression.