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The Ben Jacobs Chelsea FC column!

Chelsea have a massive game against Newcastle on Tuesday. Victory not only puts them into the League Cup semi-final, but the tournament is perhaps their best route to European football next season.

Wolves, Palace, Luton and Fulham between now and mid-January is also a relatively kind run of Premier League fixtures, so now is the time to build momentum.

Chelsea responded well in the second half to beat Sheffield United 2-0 but they looked unconvincing in the first 45 minutes against the Premier League's bottom side. It was a must win game, so the result is more important than the overall performance.

Cole Palmer was superb, Nicholas Jackson now has seven Premier League goals, and Djorde Petrovic kept a clean sheet on his first start. Chelsea just need to find a way to make Stamford Bridge more of a fortress and steamroll sides when they are in control. I can't think of too many comfortable home wins under this ownership.

But it's still early stages in this ambitious and unique project. In two more windows, and by early next season, it’s the first time to judge if things are truly working and, as importantly, stable.

Chelsea's recruitment will slow a bit after summer 2024, but the next two windows will be busy, with outgoings as important as incomings to keep the squad size down.

Contrary to some reports, my understanding remains Mauricio Pochettino will have input but not 'control' in January with the recruitment model very much operating the same as during the summer, with Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley leading things, and Behdad Eghbali still very hands on.

The only real difference is Pochettino's input is a bit more informed now compared to when he joined and inherited a summer strategy. The Argentine does want some experience and proven Premier League quality, and this will be factored in. But I do still expect Chelsea to buy pretty young.

River Plate’s Claudio Echeverri is one example of this. Chelsea and Manchester City are both circling. But it remains to be seen whether the 17-year-old will be sold on the project.