This transfer window has been uniquely chaotic, with more twists than an M. Night Shyamalan thriller, longer than the pre-amble to a UEFA draw, and less predictable than Chelsea's winter crisis.
Todd Boehly has been racking up the air miles since June to eat some wonderful food and sign some talented players. At the time of writing, Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana are the major confirmed arrivals, with forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang likely to join that list.
This window has kept everyone connected to Chelsea guessing and on their toes. With hijacks upon hijacks and multiple attempts at swap deals, this window could have prompted alternative routes.
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As we did last summer, the football.london Chelsea team wanted to look at the alternative route for the summer of 2022.
We will only use targets linked to the club or those who appeared close to signing before inevitably joining Barcelona. Boehly's first window has certainly caught the attention of outsiders, garnering accusations of playing Football Manager, but this alternative window is a little more bonkers than the real thing.
Raphinha AND Jules Kounde sign!
This is pretty obvious. The two players who appeared destined for Stamford Bridge only to lured by the magical levers of Joan Laporta at Barcelona.
Boehly had agreed a £55m fee with Leeds United for the winger who Thomas Tuchel had apparently favoured based on impressive data and the need for a good wide threat.
Although Barcelona had agreed personal terms with the Brazilian months before, there were always suggestions the player would have made the move to Chelsea if Barca's interest fell through. With Kounde, Chelsea had agreed everything before weirdly going cold on the defender they had tracked so fiercely the previous summer.
This signing would have likely ruled out the subsequent move for Wesley Fofana.
Boehly brings CR7 to the Kings Road
It looked like the impossible could become reality for a brief period in July: Cristiano Ronaldo becoming a Chelsea player.
Boehly held a meeting with Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes, and the proposal of Ronaldo as an attacking addition was presented to Thomas Tuchel, but the German rejected it.
Let's theorise that in self-preservation mode, after a difficult pre-season and some poor early season results, Tuchel changes his mind.
The circus of Ronaldo arrives in west London, and a debate about pressing forwards consumes another season.
Levi Colwill sold.
This is another sliding door moment that could have severely dampened the window. Impressive academy talent Levi Colwill appeared close to a permanent move away to Brighton, with Cucurella coming the other way.
In reality, Brighton settled on a season loan, with relief that a pathway for the highly admired Colwill would still be available at Stamford Bridge.
But given how Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi had been sold the previous summer, a third academy exit was not out of the question. How would Chelsea's window be viewed if that had happened?
Also, looking at how an already weakened defence would appear in the coming years. Let's take a sigh of relief this one went a better way.
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