Chelsea’s owners have no plans to stop spending any time soon, despite breaking just about every transfer record since taking charge of the west London club in May 2022, according to reports.
The Blues have recruited aggressively, with 18 new faces arriving at Stamford bridge in two transfer windows, culminating in a British record fee for Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
Such has been their aggression in the transfer market, with the club outspending all of the rest of European football combined over the winter, that some of their summer purchases are now surplus to requirements. Both Kalidou Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling, bought in for a combined £75m in July and August respectively, are free to leave next summer according to reports.
And there has been significant concern around the Premier League and Europe about their spending habits, which have essentially exploited a loophole in transfer amortisation by handing out seven and eight year contracts, something that UEFA are already set to remedy ahead of the summer.
However, in an ominous message to fellow clubs around the top flight, the Independent report that the owners intend to continue to overhaul the squad at great expense, with sources claiming that “the next two years will see more of the same lavish transfer business as they completely reshape the squad”.
They have already turned their attention to the summer too, with Declan Rice, Moises Caicedo and Brentford shot-stopper David Raya all on their wishlist for the end of the season.
Currently sitting 10th in the Premier League, and with a squad of 33 players for the remainder of the campaign, keeping everyone happy may be a major obstacle for Graham Potter to overcome, not least because he can only register three of his eight new signings for the Champions League, where they face Borussia Dortmund in the last 16.
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