Latest leak confirms Chelsea 2018-19 third kit details, orange socks

We already had a glimpse of what Chelsea’s third kit will look like this season, although the images leaked were either very bad quality or were mock-ups based on them.

The latest leak however, from the usual suspects at Footy Headlines and Todo Sobre Camisetas, paints a high-definition picture for all of us to see and evaluate.

The first new feature spotted in this (final?) design is the reflective logo, for both the Chelsea badge and the Nike swoosh. It’s unclear if those will make it into the more expensive player-versions as they would serve very little purpose on the pitch, but the cheaper fan-versions of the shirts will surely feature this gimmick.

This shirt has the same collar design as the other two shirts, with the contrasting neck-stripe a bright orange here, perhaps in a nod to the (in)famous orange-and-grey kit of the mid-‘90s. The orange carries into the sock (the short will match the base light blue colour), which will certainly make these stand out if and when they are worn on the pitch.

Hidden in the horizontal stripes on the front is a map of West London, which is a theme for Nike this season.

Such an unorthodox kit certainly will divide opinions. But that is what third kits usually do.