Despite signing Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana, Chelsea were in the market for another group of elite tier centre-backs to add to their ageing defence over the summer.
After Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen both left Stamford Bridge on free deals following the running down of their contract - partly down to negotiations being on hold as Chelsea were unable to buy or sell players as result of the restrictions placed on the club in the wake of the UK Government imposing sanctions on Roman Abramovich - the Blues heavily invested in their backline.
The three signings they ended up with weren't even the tip of the iceberg though as deals were missed out on for Matthijs de Ligt, Presnel Kimpembe and Joska Gvardiol throughout the window.
