Chelsea find themselves in a period of transition, and as head coach Sonia Bompastor told Sky Sports ahead of the new WSL campaign, rebuilding a club of this stature takes time. The comment may sound like a cliché, but it captures the reality of a side that has endured significant upheaval over the past two seasons. Bompastor stepped into the role after the departure of long‑time manager Emma Hayes, inheriting a team that had enjoyed unprecedented dominance under Hayes and her partner Paul Green, who left his post as head of women’s football in February.
Replicating that level of success is a daunting challenge, yet it is the very task Bompastor has embraced. In her first season, Bompastor guided Chelsea to an unbeaten domestic treble, a feat many attributed in part to Hayes' lingering influence. However, the second campaign laid bare the fact that the old Chelsea was evolving into something different.
The team finished third in the league, behind Manchester City and Arsenal, and secured only the League Cup – the first time in six years that the WSL title slipped from their grasp. Bompastor reflected on that season, noting that while the club is accustomed to winning, the experience offered valuable lessons and highlighted the need to re‑establish a winning culture rooted in standards, behaviours, and a clear identity. Now, entering her third pre‑season, Bompastor says she feels a stronger connection with the club’s ethos and a clearer understanding of its ambitions. "I think now I understand what the club is about a lot more," she explained.
"I also understand what we want to achieve and bringing my input into that. It's good to be in a place where I feel the confidence and the trust coming from the hierarchy in the club.
As much as I know my job, we need to get good results in order for me to stay as long as possible, but it's also important to feel like we also have time to rebuild the team in order for us to compete against the best." This sentiment underscores the balance she seeks between immediate results and long‑term reconstruction. The summer window has already signalled a fresh start, especially in terms of personnel.
Long‑standing figures such as former captain Millie Bright, prolific forward Sam Kerr, and midfield stalwarts Niamh Charles, Guro Reiten and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd have all departed. Their exits represent a loss of experience, leadership, and trophy‑winning pedigree. Bompastor acknowledged the difficulty of replacing such players, emphasizing that recruitment must align with the culture she wishes to cultivate. Chelsea’s transfer approach blends seasoned internationals with promising youngsters.
Two of the four signings announced so far illustrate this mix: Irish full‑back Katie McCabe and 18‑year‑old forward Nelly Las. Bompastor praised McCabe’s immediate impact on squad standards and leadership, while Las brings versatility and youth development potential, having already featured for England’s youth sides and made 16 WSL appearances with Leicester. "It's important to have the right balance between experienced players, but also the youth into the squad," Bompastor said. "Players having versatility to play in different positions is also really important for me.
I'm a manager who really loves to work with young players, to invest time to develop them and I'm really keen to bring these players into the squad and see how they can develop to contribute to the success we will have in the future." Leadership on the pitch will increasingly fall to the senior members of the current group. Defender Ellie Carpenter, despite being at Chelsea for only a year, has already collected multiple trophies and is poised to assume a more vocal role. She told Sky Sports, "Chelsea are going through a bit of a transition phase at the moment. A lot of legends have gone and they left such a great legacy.
Now it's our turn to do that, follow in their footsteps and build on what Chelsea is as a club. Our aim this season is to fight for those trophies back and show what Chelsea is about. We want to do it as a team, winning in that way and enjoying it and hopefully getting the results on the way as well." The ultimate prize that still eludes the Blues is the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Chelsea’s recruitment strategy has long been geared toward European glory, with Bompastor herself a former Champions League‑winning manager at Lyon. The squad already includes players with continental success: Carpenter, striker Melvine Malard, defender Kadeisha Buchanan, McCabe (who lifted the trophy with Arsenal), and Lucy Bronze, a five‑time European champion who renewed her contract this summer. Yet none of those accolades have come in a Chelsea shirt, and the question each season remains: will this be the year the wait ends?
Bompastor made the ambition clear: "Winning the Champions League is one of the main goals for us. We'll work as hard as possible to achieve that and I know everyone is expecting Chelsea to always be at their best. The competition now in Europe is getting higher and higher. Many clubs now are in a position where they can compete to win the Champions League.
I don't want to shy away from us and our ambitions, but I also know it's difficult. But that's the one trophy we're missing in the club and we will try as hard as possible to fight for that." Carpenter echoed this sentiment, noting the blend of youthful energy and experienced winners will be crucial. The scrutiny that accompanies Chelsea’s brand is intense, and Bompastor admits she has never experienced such pressure before. She says she is comfortable with it, recognizing that it reflects the club’s global stature and high standards.
"It means people care about us and really think we are a really important club. That's what comes with our standards and Chelsea being one of the best clubs in the world, so we need to get comfortable with that.
We need to make sure when we go into the season, we don't have any regrets and we give our all any time we step onto the pitch," she concluded. In summary, Chelsea are in the midst of a careful metamorphosis.
The blend of seasoned leaders, emerging talents, and a clear cultural blueprint aims to restore the dominance that defined the Hayes era while forging a new identity capable of conquering both domestic and European challenges. The upcoming season will test whether this new blueprint can deliver the trophies that have long defined the Blues' ambition.