After a lavish summer in which more than £270million was spent on new signings, there was genuine intrigue as to how new Chelsea owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali would tackle the winter transfer window. Yet nobody quite predicted how January would play out.
Chelsea didn't just go big, they went bigger than any club before. Eight players arrived in deals that totalled more than £300million. The squad overseen by Graham Potter ballooned as a result, but there was no Chelsea supporter that wasn't caught up in the excitement of the window.
"You look at the age of the players, where they are in their careers, and a combination of the investment in the transfer fee and salary has made good sense for us and where we're at," Potter told Sky Sports once January was over. "We've got a hungry group of players who are ready to help the team now and also grow and grow as the club develops.
