Chelsea's transfer dealings: Crazy or good?

Chelsea have spent an astonishing, record breaking €611.49m on incoming transfers over the past two windows, which includes around 14 new players for the first team and two loan deals. Others have been recruited, keeping the academy and U-21s in mind. In the winter window alone, the west London club splurged upwards of €300 million, breaking the British transfer record for Enzo Fernandez from Benfica (€121 million).

This spending spree has led to reactions from pundits and the media, with most of them calling it madness and a recipe for disaster. At a cursory glance, it might seem so, but upon further deliberation, the spending was made on transfers that were needed and, in some cases, forced upon the hierarchy.

Chelsea's squad in the summer of 2022 was a mess

Take a look at the Chelsea squad in the summer of 2022 in the picture below. (Final year of contract in brackets)

(Note - Players in red signify contracts expiring within 2 years)

Chelsea's squad going into the last summer transfer window. Player positions can vary on the pitch.

Looking at the squad, the below-mentioned issues stood out like a sore thumb.

Lack of experienced centre-backs

With Antonio Rudiger and Christensen departing, Chelsea had no experienced centre-backs available apart from Thiago Silva and, to a certain extent, Trevor Chalobah. Malang Sarr had failed to impress in the previous season while Levi Colwill had no Premier League experience.

Lack of full back cover

Both Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta were fantastic for the club. However, they were not able to replicate the dynamic full-back duo of Chelsea in Reece James and Ben Chilwell, primarily due to their age and failing legs.

Central midfielders and wingers running out of contract

Similar to the summer situation which led to Rudiger and Christensen walking away for nothing, the club had another potential such disaster waiting to happen. N'Golo Kante and Jorginho, their two most experienced central midfielders, were entering the final years of their contracts.

Both being over 30 and Kante's injury record meant that handing out big contracts was a huge risk. Contract situations were not good for Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic too (the latter apparently not willing to sign a new contract).

Certain players wanting a move away

According to reports, a number of players including Timo Werner, Romelu Lukaku, Hakim Ziyech, Hudson-Odoi, Pulisic and Alonso wanted a move away from the club. Some wanted a new challenge, while others had fallen out with then-manager Thomas Tuchel.

Adding to the above issues, the completion of the takeover process took time. This meant that Chelsea entered the transfer market much later than their rivals and even worse, with no transfer committee in place. New owner Todd Boehly took over the role as interim sporting director, guided by then head coach Tuchel.

The most pressing concern that was identified was the lack of central defenders. Chelsea bought the experienced Kalidou Koulibaly (€38 million) and the versatile Marc Cucurella (who could play on the left of the back three as well as both full-back positions in a back four or three) for €65.3 million. Late into the transfer market, the young and talented Wesley Fofana from Leicester City came in for a record €80.4 million.

To fill in the gaps left by Werner, Hudson-Odoi (loan) and Lukaku (loan) departing, multiple Premier League winner Raheem Sterling (€56.2 million) and Tuchel's old favorite Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (€12 million) were bought into the club. To provide somewhat support to the midfield, Chukwuemeka (€18 million) was bought while Denis Zakaria was brought in on loan to cover injury prone Kante.

While criticism was directed at overpaying for players like Cucurella and Fofana, the club were able to tackle some of the pressing issues given the time they had and the lack of a proper transfer committee.

(Note - Player names in bold signify new additions to the squad, while in red signify contracts expiring within 2 years)

Chelsea's squad post the summer transfer window of 2022. Player positions can vary on the pitch.

Spend in the winter to stay ahead of competition

Chelsea's season was in turmoil. Thomas Tuchel was sacked after a poor start and due to a difference in vision with the ownership. The entire club structure was being changed. Graham Potter was bought as head coach from Brighton & Hove Albion.

Chelsea's new ownership was banking on the idea of a long-term plan under a young, exciting coach with a proven track record of building teams and a squad of promising players. They also put a transfer committee in place involving multiple technical directors from different leagues.

Sitting in 10th place when the winter transfer window opened, it would be a miracle if Chelsea qualified for the Champions League. There were still obvious gaps to fill in the squad, with a midfield revamp being the most pressing issue, with new wingers and a backup to Reece James.

The Chelsea hierarchy realized that if they waited until the summer, they would be entering bidding wars against multiple clubs and with possibly no Champions League to offer, it would be difficult to attract players.

This resulted in a winter spending spree that was previously unseen. Injuries to Christian Pulisic, Armando Broja, and Raheem Sterling forced them to make a quick loan deal for Joao Felix (€11 million). They exploited the opportunity when Arsenal failed to quickly wrap up the transfer of Mykhaylo Mudryk (€70 million + addons).

Promising young talents in Noni Madueke (€35 million) and Benoit Badiashille (€38 million) were signed. Low-risk moves were also made for the very young but talented players in David Fofana (€12 million), Gabriel Slolina (€9.09 million) and Andrey Santos (€12.5 million) who might not necessarily be a part of the first team immediately. A backup to Reece James was signed in the form of Malo Gusto (€30 million), who was loaned back to Lyon for the remainder of the season.

The biggest buy, however, was when they bought in Enzo Fernandez from Benfica on deadline for €121 million, smashing the British transfer record. This was the signing that was needed the most, and the transfer committee delivered it. Signing him meant that Chelsea could allow Jorginho to leave for €11.30 million to Arsenal, instead of losing him on a free six months later.

Chelsea's squad after the January 2023 transfer window. Player positions can vary on the pitch.

Within two transfer windows, all of the pressing issues in the squad were resolved. Chelsea do not face an uncertain midfield in the upcoming summer anymore. They have backups to both the full-backs and good central defenders. They have exciting new wingers in Mudryk and Madueke to support the experienced Raheem Sterling and can safely move on Hakim Ziyech and injury-prone Pulisic.

Chelsea's madness is planned, albeit they have overpaid in some cases, especially during the summer. There is work left to be done on the squad, mainly in the form of departures (to trim down an extremely bloated squad) and contract renewals.