10 reasons why the 2016-17 summer transfer window was the best ever

#4 ‘The Godfather’ was unable to make offers players can’t refuse

Lack of European football meant Conte had to give up on his main transfer targets

Chelsea’s lack of Champions League football hit them hard in the summer transfer window. Football fans have been accustomed to Chelsea getting their way in the transfer market over the last decade or so, thanks to the crazy sums of money that owner Roman Abramovic was willing to splurge on new players.

With Chelsea mounting a dismal title defence last season and finishing 10th - a dismal result by their standards, the fallout was no European football for the current season, which makes it difficult to sign players of high calibre.

While Manchester United faced a similar situation back in 2014, the allure of Manchester United managed to bring in big name signings such as Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao.

The same cannot be said for Chelsea as they failed in their pursuit of Kalidou Koulibaly, Radja Nainngolan, and Alessio Romagnoli, top transfer targets for new boss Antonio Conte.