These could be the new Chelsea shirts for 2016-17

We’ve reached December, which means that it’s time for big-time European soccer teams to have their kit designs for next season leaked already. This time, Chelsea have become the latest team to have their shirt designs for next season revealed before this season has reached the halfway point.

The supposed home kit is as simple as you’d expect a Chelsea home kit to be nowadays, with the only major design quirk being the sublimated lions from the crest being placed all over the shirt.

The clash kit is typical Chelsea fare as well: It’s white, but the sublimated lions have been relegated to the sleeves, only.

The third/European kit us also something that we’d expect to see Chelsea wear: Dark gray/black with neon accents.

Normally I’d say to take leaks like this with a grain of salt, but there are a few factors that lead me to believe that this is legit. First off, the image itself is very similar to what we’ve seen for Adidas’ official unveilings. Secondly, the three-stripes have been relegated from the shoulders to the sides, which appears to be a new thing for Adidas kits in 2016-17. To round it all off, this set of kit designs (simple blue design for home, white clash kit, dark kit with neon accents for European/third kit) is similar to what we’d normally see Chelsea wear. So, I think it’s safe to say that this will probably be what Chelsea will be wearing once next season kicks off in August 2016.

What do you think of the new Chelsea shirts? Is it an upgrade? Downgrade? Do you actually believe that Yokohama is cursing the soon-to-be former English Champions?