The 2017–18 season was Chelsea's 104th competitive season, 29th consecutive season in the top flight of English football, 26th consecutive season in the Premier League and 112th year in existence as a football club. The season covered the period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018.
The season was the first since 1997–98 without former club captain John Terry, after he departed to Aston Villa on a free transfer following 22 years with the club. It was also the first season since 2007–08 without Branislav Ivanović, who departed in the same transfer window to Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg. Chelsea returned to the UEFA Champions League after a single season's absence and entered the Premier League season as defending champions. The season was also Chelsea's first under the new kit deal with Nike, the most lucrative commercial deal in the history of the club.
Team kits Supplier: Nike / Sponsor: Yokohama Tyres (chest), Alliance Tyres (sleeve)
Month by month review
May On 22 May 2017, it was announced Juan Cuadrado would join Juventus on a permanent deal for a preset transfer fee of £17.3 million after a clause in his loan contract became triggered. He subsequently signed a contract with the Serie A champions until 2020.
On 24 May, newly promoted Premier League club Newcastle United activated the option-to-purchase clause in Christian Atsu's loan contract from the 2016–17 season, purchasing the player for a reported £6.2 million.
On 30 May 2017, Asmir Begović signed for Premier League club AFC Bournemouth on a long-term contract after Bournemouth purchased the player for an undisclosed transfer fee rumoured to be close to £10 million.
June While on international duty with Belgium, Eden Hazard fractured his right ankle and was consequently ruled out of action for three months, meaning he will likely miss the start of the 2017–18 season.
On 26 June, Burkina Faso international Bertrand Traoré joined French club Lyon for an initial £8.8 million transfer fee, plus potential add-ons. Traoré subsequently signed a five-year contract with Lyon, with reports suggesting buy-back and sell-on clauses had been included in the contract.
On 30 June, academy product and Netherlands international defender Nathan Aké signed for AFC Bournemouth, who broke their transfer record after paying a reported £20 million transfer fee. Aké spent the first half of the 2016–17 season on loan with Bournemouth before being recalled prematurely to Chelsea in January.
July After reaching an agreement with Rangers, youth player Billy Gilmour joined Chelsea on 1 July for a reported £500,000 transfer fee. Daishawn Redan, a youth striker at Ajax, became the second high-profile youth signing of the season, and Ethan Ampadu of Exeter City also linked up with the academy upon the opening of the summer transfer window.
On 1 July, Chelsea and Nike unveiled the club's new kits for the 2017–18 season, to be sold in the refurbished "megastore". Also on 1 July, Chelsea announced the signing of Argentine goalkeeper Willy Caballero on a free transfer from Manchester City.
On 3 July, after an illustrious career with the club spanning 22 years, former Chelsea captain John Terry signed for Championship club Aston Villa. Also on 3 July, young English midfielder Kasey Palmer signed a new contract with Chelsea, keeping him at Stamford Bridge until the end of the 2021–22 season. Palmer also completed a season-long loan deal with newly promoted Premier League club Huddersfield Town, returning to the club after helping them to gain promotion the previous season.
On 4 July, academy product Tammy Abraham signed a new five-year contract with Chelsea, keeping him at Stamford Bridge until the end of the 2021–22 season. On the same day, Abraham completed a season-long loan move to Premier League club Swansea City.
On 9 July, Chelsea completed the signing of German international defender Antonio Rüdiger from Roma for a £29 million transfer fee. Upon joining the Blues, Rüdiger was assigned the number 2 shirt, formerly occupied by Branislav Ivanović.
On 10 July, it was announced that newly signed goalkeeper Willy Caballero would be assigned the number 1 shirt for the forthcoming campaign. The number 1 shirt had previously been worn by Asmir Begović before his transfer to AFC Bournemouth. On the same day, it was revealed that academy product Charly Musonda's new shirt number would be number 17. The Premier League also granted Chelsea permission for his shirt name to be "Musonda Jr.".
On 11 July, English international defender and academy product Ola Aina completed a season-long loan move to Championship club Hull City.
On 12 July, English midfielder and academy product Ruben Loftus-Cheek completed a season-long loan move to Crystal Palace.
On 13 July, English midfielder and academy product Nathaniel Chalobah completed a transfer to Premier League club Watford for an undisclosed transfer fee reported to be approximately £5.5 million. Buy-back and sell-on clauses were reported to have been included in the contract.
On 14 July, Brazilian winger Lucas Piazon signed a two-year contract extension at Chelsea, simultaneously completing a season-long loan move to London neighbours Fulham, where he had previously been on loan in the 2016–17 season. Also on 14 July, academy defender Jake Clarke-Salter signed a new four-year contract with Chelsea.
On 15 July, Chelsea announced the signing of French international midfielder Tiémoué Bakayoko from Monaco for an initial transfer fee of £40 million. He was assigned the number 14 shirt at the club, with the previous occupant, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, having left Chelsea on loan for the season.
On 18 July, first-team manager Antonio Conte was rewarded for his successful first season at Chelsea with a new two-year contract, serving to replace the previous contract and offer improved terms to the Italian. After signing, Conte said, "I am very happy to have signed a new contract with Chelsea. We worked extremely hard in our first year to achieve something amazing, which I am very proud of. Now we must work even harder to stay at the top. The Chelsea fans have given me so much support since I arrived here one year ago and it is important we continue to succeed together." Along with the new contract, two new members of Conte's backroom team were announced: Paolo Vanoli and Davide Mazzotta. Vanoli will serve as first-team assistant while Mazzotta will serve as both an assistant and a player analyst.
On 19 July, Chelsea announced a transfer fee had been agreed to with Real Madrid for the transfer of striker Álvaro Morata, subject to Morata agreeing to personal terms and passing a medical with Chelsea. The Spanish international forward helped Real Madrid defend their UEFA Champions League title in 2016–17, scoring 20 goals in all competitions across the 2016–17 season. The initial transfer fee was reported to be around £58 million, which could increase to £70 million with add-ons, which would make him Chelsea's new record-high signing, surpassing the £50 million transfer fee paid for Fernando Torres in January 2011. The signing was officially announced two days later on 21 July, with Morata signing a five-year contract with the Premier League champions. He joined the Chelsea squad on their pre-season tour in Asia.
Also on 21 July, French international defender Kurt Zouma signed a new six-year contract with Chelsea, keeping him at Stamford Bridge until the end of the 2022–23 season. Simultaneously, Zouma completed a season-long loan move to Premier League club Stoke City. Academy product Jay Dasilva also signed a new contract with Chelsea through to 2021, simultaneously completing a season-long loan move to Charlton Athletic, where he had previously been loaned to during the latter half of the 2016–17 season.
On 27 July, goalkeeper Jamal Blackman signed a contract extension at Chelsea through to 2021, simultaneously completing a season-long loan move to Championship club Sheffield United. Also on 27 July, Jamaican defender Michael Hector completed a season-long loan move to Hull City, and Czech defender Tomáš Kalas signed a new four-year contract at Chelsea, simultaneously completing a season-long loan move to Fulham, where he had been on loan during the previous season.
On 31 July, Serbian international midfielder Nemanja Matić signed for Manchester United, ending his three-and-a-half-year second spell with Chelsea.
August On 2 August, Mario Pašalić signed a four-year contract extension and joined Russian champions Spartak Moscow on a season-long loan.
On 6 August, Chelsea lost the Community Shield 4–1 on penalties to Arsenal after drawing 1–1 in normal time.
On 11 August, young English midfielder Lewis Baker signed a new five-year contract with Chelsea, simultaneously completing a season-long loan move to Championship club Middlesbrough.
On 12 August, Chelsea suffered a nightmare start to their Premier League title defence, losing 3–2 at home to Burnley, who had only won once away from home in the previous season. Chelsea's performance was marred by two of their players receiving red cards, the first being captain Gary Cahill in the early stages of the game, and the second being Cesc Fàbregas towards the closing stages of the match. The Blues fought back from 3–0 down with goals from debutant Álvaro Morata and David Luiz, but ultimately lost the match. Such defeat was the second ever for a Premier League holder. The first was Leicester City's defeat against Hull City the previous season, which was an away match for Leicester. The home defeat would also mark the first time since the 1998–99 season that Chelsea had lost the opening match of a Premier League season.
On 20 August, Chelsea bounced back from their disappointing defeat with a 2–1 away victory over Tottenham Hotspur at their temporary home, Wembley Stadium. Marcos Alonso scored a double, his first goal being a free-kick and his second a strike late in the match, while Spurs scored through an own goal from Michy Batshuayi. The win for Chelsea condemned Tottenham to defeat in their first home match of the season and their first at Wembley in the Premier League.
On 25 August, Nigerian defender Kenneth Omeruo signed a new three-year contract with Chelsea, simultaneously completing a season-long loan move to Turkish club Kasımpaşa, where he had previously been on loan at in the 2015–16 campaign.
On 27 August, Chelsea won their first Premier League home match of the 2017–18 season after defeating Everton 2–0 in a dominant display that the Blues could have won by more goals. Fàbregas opened the scoring in the 27th minute, coolly clipping into the bottom corner and past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford with the help of Morata, who claimed his second assist of the season. Morata would later add to Chelsea's goal tally with a header in the 40th minute, scoring his second league goal of the season. The Blues had many opportunities throughout the match to extend their lead, but ultimately won comfortably in a convincing performance that lifted them to sixth in the table after three matches.
On 28 August, young Ivorian attacker Jérémie Boga signed a new three-year contract with Chelsea, and also joined Championship club Birmingham City on a season-long loan.
Club Honors. On 26 September 2014 local Chelsea Supporter Mark Carroll was awarded with the Golden football for his dedication to the club over the past ten years. Following this he was paraded through Fulham Broadway to show off his well earned prize. BBC spokesman James Shelby spoke to Mark. From speaking to Mark he is very pleased with his achievement quoting I love this club Well done Mark from all at Chelsea Football Club.
Deadline day (31 August)