Under Mauricio Pochettino's expert guidance at the helm – the Argentine manager who was successful with the club's London rivals – Chelsea were expected to turn the tide and put the woes of last season behind them.
Yet, with a multitude of new signings to contend with, the inconsistencies in performance that saw the Blues finish in a disastrous 12th spot last campaign are rearing their ugly head once more even with Pochettino in the dug-out instead of an underperforming club legend in Frank Lampard.
An encouraging display against Arsenal – the Gunners salvaging a share of the points in the end at Stamford Bridge in a 2-2 contest – was then followed up with an abject home display versus Brentford with Thomas Frank's Bees winning 2-0 at the expense of a toothless Chelsea side.
Registering just two shots on target in that lunchtime kick-off, Pochettino will be scratching his head at his side and assessing what he can change to conjure up more consistent displays from his group and get more wins on the board.
The Argentine head coach could well look to Reece James as a way to add more creativity to his side, the wing-back battling with his fitness for some time now but he could be devastatingly effective if called upon fully fit.
This could however, in tow, see the likes of summer signing Axel Disasi reverted back to a familiar centre-back position after playing there against Brentford or ditched completely for James to come back in and make that spot his own again.
Axel Disasi's performance against Brentford
Signed from Monaco for £38.57m in a transfer window that saw the Blues go overboard with new faces, Disasi has shown glimpses of promise in a Chelsea shirt so far.
Switched to a right-back slot against Brentford, usually operating as a centre-back, he was largely ineffective in an unorthodox role – leaving the field of play in the 67th minute after only registering 69 touches of the ball per FBRef, rarely involving himself in the attack to aid his impotent side, with zero key passes to his name.
This shows that he was not able to provide a burst of attacking quality from that position, which played a part in the Blues' lack of action at the top end of the pitch.
Given 23 minutes in place of the ex-Monaco man, James should comfortably come back into the first team when fully fit and show everyone what they have been missing out on since he's been sidelined with reoccurring injury knocks – James once an integral part of the Chelsea jigsaw, key to success under Thomas Tuchel.
Why Reece James could improve Chelsea
As much as Chelsea want to show off their new, expensive buys, results are what are more paramount at this current point in time.
Slotting James back into the line-up would still allow Chelsea to utilise their exciting plethora of talent purchased this summer, alongside having an experienced Premier League player charging down the flanks to attempt to make the Blues more incisive and add verve to their game overall.
James' stats for Chelsea speak for themselves, especially his output during the 2021-22 campaign for the Blues – registering nine assists in total domestically, whilst helping to a single goal in the Champions League as the West Londoners crashed out in the quarter finals.
Labelled as an "incredible footballer" by football journalist Adam Newson at the peak of his powers, everyone at Chelsea will have their fingers crossed that the 5 foot 10 dynamo can replicate his best against at Stamford Bridge and help his team become more ruthless in attack with an added threat down the channels.
There is still time for the Blues to find a solution to their continuing woes, and in James, they might well have find one potential remedy.
The England international has averaged at least 1.3 key passes per game in each of the last three full Premier League seasons and could, therefore, provide far more creativity than the naturally defensive Disasi did on the right flank.
Pochettino must finally unleash James from the start for the first time since August and move the former Ligue 1 man to the side, at centre-back or on the bench, to do so.
