It's been some year for . It started with an uncharacteristically quiet January transfer window, took in two appearances at Wembley and saw the exit of - and that was just the first half of the year.

switched manager again following the culmination of the 2023/24 season, with Pochettino leaving by mutual consent before the arrival of as his replacement. That in turn saw another big outlay in the summer of nearly £200million - though they also brought in around £170million in outgoing players.

The likes of , and arrived along with a host of young players considered as possible first-team stars of the future. Meanwhile, the permanent exits of , , , and among others boosted the coffers.

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It's fair to say the Blues have got off to a good start to the 2024/25 season, sitting fourth in the table at the halfway stage. There was a slightly sobering exit from the against Newcastle to deal with, but they had a perfect start to their campaign, winning all six of their group stage games to qualify for the knockout rounds.

What comes next for Chelsea? Our football.london writers have their say below...

In terms of trophies, I think there is a really good opportunity for Chelsea to get their hands on two this year. They remain massive favourites in the UEFA Conference League and you would expect them to go all of the way in that one.

As well as the European trophy, why not have a real go at the FA Cup? A home tie against Morecambe awaits this month, so you would expect that to be a free ticket into the fourth round. It just depends how seriously Maresca takes it, really, with Chelsea potentially battling on three fronts.

To be fair to Maresca, he was right that Chelsea were not in a title race; some of us just got carried away! In the last two games, defeats against Fulham and Ipswich Town, it has demonstrated to everyone that the Blues remain a bit behind runaway leaders Liverpool.

A top-four finish would be a massive success for Chelsea, though, with all things considered. You would have 100% taken it at the beginning of the season - and pretty much every supporter would bite your hand off for it now.

So, top-four and two trophies... doesn't sound too bad, eh?

Enzo Maresca will really want to finish in the top four this season so Champions League football returns to Stamford Bridge in 2025. If you offered fans that at the start of this campaign most would have snapped your hand off and I'm backing the Blues to do that.

The UEFA Conference League is also a trophy Chelsea should be winning, given their quality and the quality of the opposition. It's not the most glamourous of trophies but it's still a trophy after all and winning it will do Maresca the world of good going into the 2025/26 season.

It's also vital Chelsea's young squad continues to gel in 2025. Estevao Willian, Kendry Paez, Aaron Anselmino and Mike Penders will join up with the Blues squad at various points of the year so the future is very bright indeed. If Maresca can continue to manage his squad well, it could be an exciting year in west London.

January sees a relatively straightforward path into the fourth round of the FA Cup for Chelsea, and I think this is one they could go far in, especially after going out of the Carabao Cup earlier than they maybe should have.

In terms of the transfer window, I don't see there being any big deals happening in the winter. Maybe one or two for the future in the same vein as Estevao Willian or Aaron Anselmino, but no big first-team arrivals.

For the rest of the season, I'd expect Chelsea to battle for a top-four spot, and think they'll take one as long as Enzo Maresca can sort the defence out a bit. The Blues have been decent in front of goal, but too sloppy at the back in recent weeks.

And then comes the Conference League, which they really should be winning; when you look at the teams they're likely to face, the Blues are far and away the strongest team in the competition.

In the summer, I wouldn't be surprised to see a big arrival up front - as well as perhaps an exit for Christopher Nkunku. His stock is still relatively high, but if he can't oust Nicolas Jackson as first-choice, he won't fare better when someone like Victor Osimhen signs.

Then it's time for the Blues to mount a serious title challenge. If they spend big in the summer then Maresca will no longer be able to claim they are not ready for a title race.