The same question is posed every time a player joins: how on earth are Chelsea making this work? The spending is so dizzying it is no wonder that heads are spinning. Surely, the sceptics say, there will come a point when enough is enough; when Chelsea’s owners, who have spent more than £500m on 16 signings, feel the squeeze of financial fair play rules and are forced to exercise some restraint in the transfer market.
And yet, in the wake of Chelsea breaking the British transfer record by signing Enzo Fernández from Benfica for £106.8m late on deadline day, there is no sign the fun is about to stop. Speak to people who know the club and they will say that Roman Abramovich’s successors are hardly reaching down the back of the sofa for loose change. The money is there and, judging by how many eight-year deals Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital are handing out, so is the will to break from convention.
