Chelsea FC FM21 Guide (Tactics and Transfers)

Among all this bad news around us, there are only a few things that can make our day.

One of them is certainly NEW Football Manager (2021) – FM21!

Football Manager 2021 Beta is out, and the first club we will takeover in our first FM21 save is going to be Chelsea FC!

There are many reasons why we have chosen Chelsea for our first FM21 guide. This club, currently managed by Frank Lampard is full of young players, true wonderkids, and that is maybe the biggest reason why.

In our last year`s Chelsea team guide we spoke about the club`s history, so we will skip that part in this blog.

Here in this text, we will go straight to the Chelsea FM21 finances, tactics, players, and we will share our thoughts about some great signings for this team.

So let`s begin!

Chelsea FM21 Finances

Chelsea’s latest real-life transfers took a huge chunk out of budget, but Chelsea FC finances are more than stable in Football Manager 2021.

The transfer budget you will see at the start of the game is around 14 million, and a wage budget of around 206 million euros. Not bad at all, ha?

With this budget, you are able to get a few more young players or spend more on one experienced, quality player. That is all up to you.

Hierarchy of Chelsea players in Football Manager 2021

If we check the section “Team dynamics” we will find out something that is surely present in the real FC Chelsea.

The biggest team leaders or the players on the top of the hierarchy are Thiago Silva, Giroud, and Azpilicueta.

Of course, there are also highly influential Chelsea players like Kante, Kovacic, Jorginho, Abraham, Rudiger, Mount, Zouma, and Alonso.

But, at first, let`s check out our FM21 Chelsea Team Leaders.

Thiago Silva in FM21

This guy is new in Chelsea, but he is a very experienced CB with many good traits.

He is a true Brazilian, a great technician with very good mental attributes.

The only “bad” thing about Thiago Silva in Football Manager 2021 is that he lost his speed. His acceleration is probably his biggest weakness (11/20).

Anyway, Chelsea is a blend of young and experienced players, so you should keep Thiago Silva for this season.

Chelsea`s captain – Azpilicueta

Challenged by many Chelsea fans, the real-life captain of this team Azpilicueta is very good in FM21.

He has great physical attributes, his tackling, and the crossing is very good, and that are almost all the things you should be looking for, for your side-back.

Azpilicueta is a polyvalent player that can play in many positions. With his great mental attributes, teamwork, and leadership skills he is one of our favorite players here.

Giroud – One of the team leaders

Giroud maybe isn`t playing that much right now, he also has many things in his game that bother fans, but his leadership is great.

His mental attributes are at a very high level. Giroud is great in the air (as we already know), a very strong guy, and you should keep him, at least to be your backup striker.

Old-fashioned attackers like Giroud are always great to have for tactical maneuvers. Check out his FM21 stats, and tell us, would you keep him?

What about the rest of the Chelsea FM21 squad?

There are many, many high-quality players, and here we will do a brief analysis of the best of them.

N`Golo Kante FM21 Stats

Already mentioned as one of the highly influential Chelsea players, N`golo Kante is a real treasure for every FM21 team.

Kante is a fast, tireless DM, with amazing mental attributes, very good passing, and 20/20 tackling.

NikFM flagged Kante as his favorite Chelsea FM21 player, and the reasons for this are clear.

His wage is very high, but Kante (29 years old) is one of the pillars of the FM21 Chelsea squad.

Check out his stats:

Mason Mount

MM is a great player.

His mental attributes are very good, he can run all day long, and play in many positions.

Despite the fact that he is already having great technical skills, Mount is still very young (21) and he can improve a lot.

High-class player, for sure.

Fikayo Tomori – Better in FM21 than in real life

Tomori has weaknesses, but for formations that use a high defensive line, he is an excellent choice.

He is aggressive on the ball, a player with solid defensive attributes, and a very fast player.

He is also only 22 years old, so with good training, he can become your first choice for a CB.

Mateo Kovacic

In the previous FM20, he wasn`t a beast like he is now in FM21.

Kovacic has incredible technical attributes, he is a very good dribbler and a player who knows how to make a turnaround (flair 16).

Mateo is great as Deep Lying Playmaker and we can say that his only weakness is heading.

Try to keep this guy because he can be one of the key players in Chelsea.

Kai Havertz

Who knows for how many times we mentioned this guy in our previous FM20 team guides or best players lists.

Kai Havertz – true FM21 wonderkid.

Havertz knows how to move on the pitch. His composure is high, the first touch is amazing, natural fitness, vision, and pace are great, but that`s not all.

Kai Havertz is great passes and as he is only 21 years old, he is going to become one of the world`s best players.

Hakim Ziyech

Some of us are really big Ajax fans, so Ziyech is probably one of our favorite FM21 Chelsea players.

Hakim very sophisticated player. He knows how to dribble, how to pass, how to hold the ball and run past the opponent`s defenders.

All those things are something we all want to see from our wingers.

We have to be sincere, he has some weaknesses, as he is very bad in defensive tasks.

He is 27 years old, so you can expect the best football from this guy during your first season in Chelsea FC FM21 save.

Timo Werner

Werner was a wonderkid for many years, and now he is a very quality player.

This player is fast as hell. His pace and acceleration are 18!

Werner has impressive movement, but also great finishing, and fairly good technique.

We spoke about Timo too many times, so this time you can see his stats and make a conclusion of your own.

Other Chelsea FM21 players

FM21 was maybe too generous to Chelsea, but in many ways too stingy.

There are many players that aren`t so good in real life, like Rudiger (amazing in FM2021), but many players that are perhaps too underestimated like Pulisic (very bad in FM2021).

In addition, it would be wrong not to mention players like Abraham, Mendy, or even Reece James, who are at a high level of quality.

These guys are one of those you can count on in the future and who will help you win numerous titles, so take an eye on them.

Best Tactic (Formation) For Chelsea in FM2021

In our opinion, the best formation for Chelsea in Football Manager 2021 is 4-5-1.

Kepa is not so good in FM21, as in real life (at least in this season), so our first goalkeeper is Mendy.

In front of him, we have 4 players – James (RWB), Tomori(CB), Zouma(CB), and Chilwell(LWB).

Then, we have Kovacic(DLP), Kante(BWM), Ziyech(IW), Havertz(AM), and Mount(IF), and one, lonely AF – Timo Werner.

We think that based on the previous analysis, it is more than clear why many of them are in the top 11.

Future Chelsea FM21 Signings

NikFM found players that you should try to sign in your Football Manager 2021 Chelsea save:

• Pau Torres
• Andrea Papetti (low-cost player)
• Romario Baro
• Evan N`Dicka
• Fabrizio Caligara
• Yari Verschaeren

Why did he choose them? Check it out in the video below:

In this video, you will also see an interesting match that Nik had with Chelsea against Sheffield United.

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed our first FM21 team guide, and that after reading it there are many reasons why you should manage Chelsea in your first save.

Keep playing Football Manager and stay healthy! Cheers!

For an FM23 Chelsea team guide, click here.