The 2016–17 season was Chelsea's 103rd competitive season, 28th consecutive season in the top flight of English football, 25th consecutive season in the Premier League and 112th year in existence as a football club. In addition to the domestic league, Chelsea participated in the FA Cup and League Cup; however, they did not participate in any UEFA competition for the first time since the 1996–97 season. The season covered the period from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.
Chelsea won their fifth Premier League title with a 1–0 win away to West Bromwich Albion on 12 May. Chelsea controversially lost the FA Cup Final to Arsenal after a 2–1 loss on 27 May. This season was the last for John Terry, who announced he would leave when his contract ended at the end of the season.
The season saw Chelsea equal the Premier League records for consecutive wins in a season (13), fewest draws in a season (3), fewest home draws in a season (0), and home and away wins against different sides (12). They also managed to break the record for number of wins in a season (30), as well as record the second-highest points tally in Premier League history (93).
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Month by month review
June
On 9 June, Vitesse signed an extension on Nathan's loan and then two weeks later also signed an extension on Lewis Baker's loan.
On 13 June, Chelsea announced it had released Marco Amelia and Kevin Wright, and also confirmed that loanees Radamel Falcao and Alexandre Pato would be returning to their respective teams. After spending a season-and-a-half on loan at Udinese, Udinese activated a clause in Stipe Perica's contract to sign him permanently.
On 22 June, Charly Musonda's loan at Real Betis was extended for the 2016–17 campaign. On 27 June Chelsea youngster Kyle Scott joined Dutch club Willem II on trial after handing in multiple transfer requests in April 2016. On 29 June, Nathan Aké joined AFC Bournemouth on loan after a successful loan season with Watford in 2015–16.
In June, Chelsea submitted a total of three bids for Roma's Radja Nainggolan, with the third reportedly valued at €40 million; the player ultimately decided to stay after receiving an improved contract from Roma the following month.
July On 1 July, it was announced that Pedro would switch to the number 11 shirt, recently vacated by the loan expiration of Alexandre Pato.
On 3 July, Michy Batshuayi signed a five-year deal at Chelsea after an accepted bid of €40 million (£33.2 million). Batshuayi became the first signing by new Chelsea manager Antonio Conte. After being linked with multiple teams, on 6 July Jérémie Boga joined La Liga side Granada on a season-long loan.
After months of speculation, promising right-back Ola Aina signed a new four-year contract. Although Tika Musonda was on the release list, Chelsea opted to give him a new one-year contract.
On 11 July, Chelsea under-21 assistant manager Andy Myers joined Vitesse on a one-year deal as Henk Fraser's assistant manager. With Myers joining the Dutch side, Ian Howell is promoted as the new U-21 assistant manager. On 12 July, Players' Player of the Year Willian signed a new four-year contract. On 13 July, Tomáš Kalas returned to the Championship, joining Fulham on a season-long loan. After promotion to the first-team in the previous season, Kasey Palmer joins Huddersfield Town on 15 July. On 20 July, Kiwomya joined League 2 side Crewe Alexandra on loan until 9 January 2017. On 22 July, it was announced that Matej Delač would join Belgian side Mouscron-Péruwelz on a season-long loan.
John Swift was given a new contract in June, but decided to turn it down to sign with Championship side Reading on 14 July.
On 16 July, N'Golo Kanté signed a five-year contract with Chelsea valued at £30 million from Leicester City, becoming Conte's second signing.
Chelsea lost its first pre-season match, against Rapid Wien, which ended in a 2–0 defeat. In the following match of its Austrian tour, Chelsea won 3–0 against Wolfsberger AC, with youngsters Bertrand Traoré, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Nathaniel Chalobah each scoring a goal. The following day, Chelsea had a closed-door friendly with local team Atus Ferlach, ending its Austrian tour with an 8–0 win over the champions of the Austrian fourth-tier Kärntner Liga.
On 28 July, Chelsea started its tour of the United States with a 1–0 victory over Premier League rival Liverpool thanks to an early goal from Gary Cahill. On 30 July, Chelsea set a record during the 3–2 loss against Real Madrid, with a record attendance of 105,826.
August
Youngsters Fikayo Tomori and Mukhtar Ali both signed new long-term contracts.
On 2 August, Baba Rahman returned to the Bundesliga on a season-long loan with Schalke 04 after failing to impress Conte during the pre-season. Although Roma announced the signing Mohamed Salah back in October 2015, on 3 August Chelsea finalised the move for an additional €15 million. On 5 August, Abraham signed for Championship side Bristol City on a season-long loan, with no recall clause and Papy Djilobodji joined Sunderland for a fee reported to be in the region of £8 million. On 6 August, Houghton joined Doncaster Rovers on loan until 3 January 2017.
On 3 August, in its U.S. tour, Chelsea defeated Milan 3–1. Chelsea concluded its pre-season campaign with a 4–2 victory over Werder Bremen.
On 12 August, Bertrand Traoré signed a new three-year contract. He then joined Ajax on loan for the season while Danilo Pantić joined Excelsior on loan. On 14 August 2016, Michael Hector joined German side Eintracht Frankfurt on a season-long loan. On 15 August 2016, goalkeeper Jamal Blackman joined League Two side Wycombe Wanderers on loan until 3 January 2017, while Isaiah Brown joined Rotherham United on loan until the end of the 2016–17 season. On 23 August, Marko Marin joined Greek side Olympiacos on a three-year deal for a fee thought to be in the region of £3 million. On 25 August 2016, Eduardo joined Chelsea on free transfer, signing a one-year deal. On 27 August, Mario Pašalić joined Milan on a season-long loan.
On 30 August, strikers Patrick Bamford and Loïc Rémy joined Burnley and Crystal Palace respectively on season-long loans. Later in the day, Kenedy was also confirmed to have left on a season-long loan deal, to Watford.
Chelsea started its Premier League season with a 2–1 win over London rivals West Ham United, with goals scored by Eden Hazard and Diego Costa. In its second league game, Chelsea left it late yet again, scoring two late goals in the second half to earn their first away win of the season over Watford. Chelsea continued its winning streak after beating Bristol Rovers to advance to the third round of the EFL Cup.
On 27 August, in the 3–0 home victory over Burnley, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois kept the first clean sheet of the season and broke a run of 13 home Premier League games without a clean sheet, with their last being in a 1–0 win over Norwich City in November 2015. In the month of August, Chelsea earned all nine available points and was in second place of the Premier League.
Last day of the transfer window
On the last day of the transfer window, Chelsea completed a total of thirteen transfers, with 11 loan deals and two additions. Youngsters, Dion Conroy and Nathan Baxter, both joined up with semi-professional clubs, while Jake Clarke-Salter and Charlie Colkett both joined League One side Bristol Rovers. Lucas Piazon joined Tomáš Kalas at Fulham until 15 January 2017 while Christian Atsu joined Newcastle United on a season loan. Kenneth Omeruo returned to the Turkish league, joining newly promoted side Alanyaspor after signing a new contract until 2019. Cristián Cuevas returned to Sint-Truiden for a second season while Islam Feruz joined fellow loanee Matej Delač at Mouscron-Péruwelz. Matt Miazga joined up with the Dutch side Vitesse after his move to Espanyol fell through due to paperwork.
Juan Cuadrado would return on loan to Juventus for three seasons which will see Juventus pay a loan fee of €5 million a season, and also contain a buy-out clause €25 million with add-on clauses.
Marcos Alonso returned to the Premier League for a fee believed to be £23 million from Fiorentina, signing a five-year contract. Chelsea's last summer transfer deal was the £30 million signing of David Luiz, who returned to the London side from Paris Saint-Germain after joining PSG from Chelsea in 2014. His return was completed after he insisted on the move and stated that it was a "good deal" for the French champions after the club had initially refused the offer.
September After the international break, Chelsea faced Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium in Wales on 11 September. The match ended in a 2–2 draw, with both of Chelsea's goals coming from Diego Costa. The draw meant that it was the first game of the season in which Chelsea dropped points. In the closing minutes, John Terry suffered an ankle injury and left the pitch on crutches; scans later showed that his injury was to rule him out for approximately ten days.
On 16 September, Chelsea suffered their first defeat of the season at home, as Liverpool won 2–1 at Stamford Bridge. David Luiz made his second Chelsea debut following his deadline day move from PSG. Two Liverpool goals in the first half, from Dejan Lovren's close range finish and Jordan Henderson's thunderous 25-yard strike, put the game out of reach for the hosts, who managed to peg one goal back through Diego Costa.
On 20 September, Chelsea beat Leicester City 4–2 after extra-time to advance into the fourth round of the EFL Cup. In the match, youngster Nathaniel Chalobah made his first-team debut and Gary Cahill served as captain for the first time.
Disappointment followed on 24 September in the form of another league defeat, this time a 3–0 defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Alexis Sánchez pounced in the 11th minute after a horrific defensive error from Gary Cahill let him roam free on goal, followed three minutes later by another goal from Theo Walcott. Mesut Özil then exposed Chelsea on the counter-attack five minutes before the break, putting the game beyond Chelsea's reach and sending them further down the league table. The win was also Arsenal's first against Chelsea in the league since October 2011. In the month of September, Chelsea earned only a single point out of nine available points and were in eighth place in the Premier League.
October
After suffering back-to-back Premier League losses to top-four rivals Liverpool and Arsenal, Antonio Conte switched to a 3–4–3 formation against Hull City on the 1 October which earned him a 2–0 victory, thanks to a goal apiece from Willian and Diego Costa. The new formation featured a back-three pairing of Gary Cahill, David Luiz and César Azpilicueta, with two wing-backs providing cover in the form of Marcos Alonso on the left-hand side and Victor Moses on the right-hand side.
On 15 October, Chelsea earned a 3–0 home victory over reigning Premier League champions Leicester. The hosts put in a domineering performance against the champions, with Diego Costa opening the scoring for Chelsea in the seventh minute. Two further goals followed from Eden Hazard and Victor Moses to inflict Leicester's fourth consecutive away league defeat. Leicester could have potentially pegged a goal back following David Luiz hitting his own goalpost as a result of himself attempting to clear a Leicester corner, however it would merely have been a consolation as Chelsea comfortably claimed another three points.