Chelsea attempted to rebuild a summer structure tailored to the philosophy of new coach Xabi Alonso, outspending their Premier League rivals by spending £349 million ($471 million) on new talent, offset by a £382 million ($516 million) rebound in player sales.
The key deal was the purchase of Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa, a club-record fee of £117 million ($158 million), and the England international hit the ground running by scoring twice in his first two Premier League matches for the Blues.
Early signs suggest Rogers will live up to his huge price tag, having made instant contact with Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer in the final third. Alonso has also signed veteran duo Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson, who bring much-needed experience and leadership to a team that was sorely lacking in the latter last season.
In defense, Chelsea invested a total of £111 million ($150 million) in Maxence Lacroix, Marco Balestra and Pep Chavarria, and Emi Martinez followed Rogers from Villa in a cut-price deal worth £7.5 million. The Argentine goalkeeper is a huge upgrade from disastrous former No.1 Robert Sanchez.
Elsewhere, promising striker Emmanuel Emega and Argentine midfielder Valentin Barco have joined the Blues from their sister club Strasbourg, further bolstering the squad’s depth. Chelsea covered almost every base for their arrivals, managing to eliminate the deadwood in an equally effective manner.
Losing Mark Cucurella to Real Madrid was a huge blow, but they did so brilliantly to secure big fees for the likes of Andre Santos, Nicholas Jackson and Liam Delap. Academy graduates Trevo Chalupa and Tyreek George were also sold to Como and Everton, respectively, for a combined net profit of £50 million ($68 million).
There was drama on deadline day too, as Chelsea cashed in on Enzo Fernandes in their most expensive ever sale, shaving off a Premier League record-equalling £125m fee from Man City. Recovering their entire initial investment in the Argentine, and a little extra, would have been an impressive feat, but Chelsea did just that no Get a deal across the line for his replacement, Monaco’s Lamine Kamara.
That will certainly dampen the upbeat mood at Stamford Bridge, as Alonso is now too short in midfield to clinch the league title. Even a disgruntled Fernandes could have added a lot to the Blues’ new project, and losing him could undermine it completely.
