Chelsea 2024-25 season ratings - every player ranked: From revitalised Moises Caicedo to stuttering Jadon Sancho

Chelsea's forgotten man. Omari Kellyman was signed from Aston Villa last summer in what seemed very much like a cynical play from both clubs to circumvent the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). Injuries meant the attacking midfielder didn't play a single minute for the Blues in 2024-25.

Chelsea's sole January signing, there is definitely a sense that Mathis Amougou wasn't a player that Maresca necessarily wanted. Yet another youngster in their ranks, the teenage midfielder was barely afforded any game time and did not feature in a Premier League matchday squad after mid-March.

Considered an absolute steal when Chelsea signed him from Barcelona for just £6 million last summer, Marc Guiu didn't exactly hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge. The striker's opportunities mainly came in the Conference League, where he bagged six times in as many games, but a serious hamstring injury in February stunted his progress.

Poor Mykhailo Mudryk. Any hope that 2024-25 might be the season the hapless winger finally turned things around was extinguished in December when he was provisionally suspended over a failed drugs test. That curtailed his season, and he is still awaiting an official judgement.

Joao Felix's £46m ($61m) permanent return to his former loan club generated plenty of excitement, despite there being no obvious place for him in the XI. Ultimately, Chelsea became the latest club to fail to get the best out of the enigmatic attacker, who was loaned to AC Milan in January having utterly failed to make an impact.

Renato Veiga's time at Chelsea has been curious; the young, versatile Portuguese defender impressed in various cameos during the first half of the season and looked like a potential asset in the long-term, but by January he deemed himself ready to be a starting centre-back and pushed for a loan to Juventus, where his wish was granted.

Often public enemy No.1 at Stamford Bridge throughout the 2024-25 campaign, goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was the cause of countless heart-in-mouth moments for Chelsea supporters. The Spanish shot-stopper did make some wonderful saves, too, but he finished the league season with the joint-most errors leading to goals (five).

Maresca never really fancied the often-cumbersome Axel Disasi in his defence, giving the Frenchman the vast majority of his minutes in the Conference League and domestic cups in the first half of the season. A January loan move to Aston Villa will, in all likelihood, spell the end of an underwhelming spell at Chelsea.

Another defender who wasn't fancied by Maresca, Benoit Badiashile was very much a cup player either side of a hamstring injury. The centre-back - who is prone to a lapse in concentration - didn't feature at all in the league in the run-in and his days at Stamford Bridge are surely numbered.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is probably wishing he never followed Maresca to Chelsea. Signed as a so-called 'perfect fit' for the Italian's system as a shuttling box-to-box midfielder, the ex-Leicester man - perhaps predictably - barely had a look in in the league behind ever-present Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez. He did deserve the Conference League win, though.

Chelsea's latest back-up goalkeeper, Filip Jorgensen was largely a reliable pair of hands in the cup competitions but should really have capitalised on Sanchez's poor form. A very costly error in a late 2-1 defeat to top-five rivals Aston Villa in February effectively put paid to his chances of laying claim to the No.1 jersey.

Chelsea fans will be wondering just what has happened to Christopher Nkunku. Although he hit double figures for goals across the cup competitions, the Frenchman largely looked bereft of confidence in the Premier League - a huge disappointment after his injury-plagued debut campaign. His future seemingly lies away from Stamford Bridge.

It couldn't get much worse than an injury-hit, single-appearance 2023-24 season for Romeo Lavia, so the midfielder will be thrilled to have gotten more game time under his belt despite his continued fitness issues. The Belgian made such a difference when fit, delivering the Blues' best spells.

It was a solid if unspectacular season for Malo Gusto, with a lingering sense that there is much more to come from the young right-back. A fine one-v-one defender, his end product remains an area for significant improvement; despite always getting forward, the Frenchman managed just two assists all season.

Sensationally recalled from his successful loan at Crystal Palace in January, Trevoh Chalobah probably didn't hit the same heights back at Stamford Bridge, but - as usual - the defender was a reliable presence as Maresca rotated through his centre-back options. Unfortunately, it seems Chalobah's future will be up in the air again this summer.

Like Lavia, Wesley Fofana would have been overjoyed just to be back out there, but he lasted less than half a season before his injury curse struck again and subsequent surgery curtailed his season. It was a real shame, as there were the signs of a strong centre-back partnership forming with Levi Colwill.

A very promising start to Jadon Sancho's loan at Chelsea proved to be misleading, with the winger eventually reverting to the kind of middling form that saw his parent club Manchester United's patience run out. Eight Premier League goal contributions was passable, if unspectacular, but it remains to be seen if the Blues will keep him.

It was a truly enigmatic season from Chelsea's polarising centre-forward Nicolas Jackson; a blistering start where he scored nine times in 16 Premier League games gave way to an inexplicable dry spell that lasted more than four months. Somehow, the striker ended up with five goals fewer than 2023-24, with a late-season suspension pretty damning.

Signed as a free agent to bring some experience and leadership to the Chelsea defence, Tosin Adarabioyo didn't do anything wrong, per se, but he wasn't exactly transformative. He was a much-needed cool head at the back, though, suiting Maresca's system as a ball-playing centre-back.

Although he didn't see much action in the league, 2024-25 constituted a breakthrough season for defensive prospect Josh Acheampong. Maresca leaned on the 19-year-old heavily in the Conference League and he was inducted into the first team after putting contract uncertainty to bed by putting pen to paper.

Acheampong's close friend and fellow academy graduate, Tyrique George has taken his own big strides in the first team this season. Rising to prominence after Mudryk's suspension, the winger starred in the Conference League and bagged a well-taken and vital goal against Fulham in the Premier League run-in.

It wasn't a vintage Reece James season, by any means, but the most important thing is that Chelsea's captain managed to stay fit for the most part. His rehabilitation was intelligently managed, and he popped up with big moments in the form of a goal against Bournemouth and wonderful assist to down Manchester United.

Although he blew hot and cold, Pedro Neto was often Chelsea's biggest attacking threat and actually managed his best-ever goal-scoring season in the Premier League. The Portuguese was particularly impressive in the second half of the season, deputising ably as a striker when Jackson was injured.

Consistency probably hasn't been Chelsea's wingers' forte this season, but on their day they are among some of the best in the league. Noni Madueke was largely a big threat from the right side, even if his end product was sometimes lacking. A hat-trick in the 6-2 rout of Wolves was the highlight.

Still just 22, Levi Colwill is still a little rash and rough around the edges, but he was a near-ever-present in a much improved Chelsea defence. That aforementioned partnership with Fofana has potential, and the club will probably be pleased with the Cobham graduate's development.

It finally felt as though we were seeing Enzo Fernandez at something close to his very best in 2024-25 after one-and-a-half middling seasons at Stamford Bridge. The Argentine was ever-present and ran through walls for his side, often wearing the armband. Six Premier League goals and seven assists was a very strong return.

Marc Cucurella silenced any sceptics who thought his outstanding Euro 2024 was a fluke, carrying that form into the club campaign. The left-back was a consistently strong performer all season long, standing tall against the best wingers in the league as well as popping up with five big goals.

Statistically, it was a season of two halves for Cole Palmer - but anyone who watched Chelsea regularly will know he was still as influential as ever, as highlighted by his Conference League final heroics. He certainly didn't hit the heights of 2023-24, but Palmer remained the Blues' most important and talented attacking player, and 24 league goal contributions is still nothing to sniff at.

Chelsea's player of the season, without a shadow of a doubt. After a challenging debut campaign, there's a reason no-one talks about Moises Caicedo's £115m ($154m) price tag anymore, and that's because he has developed into exactly the world-class midfield destroyer Chelsea had been banking on. Whisper it quietly, but Caicedo is now one of the best in the business.