Chelsea took their spending in the region of £600million for the last 12 months after breaking the British transfer record for Enzo Fernandez on deadline day. The Blues spent hours in negotiations with Benfica in the final days of the transfer window before a £106.7million deal was agreed with the 22-year-old making his debut three days after joining.
Graham Potter's side were unable to get the best of their west London rivals Fulham at Stamford Bridge with the game ending goalless on Friday evening. Fernandez was able to complete the full 90 minutes, impressing on his first Premier League appearance showing multiple glimpses of his quality that was certainly on show during the World Cup.
The return of Reece James, Ben Chilwell and Raheem Sterling were also welcome sights for Chelsea with Noni Madueke also being handed his debut. Plenty of opportunities fell the way of the hosts, but for the second consecutive game they drew a blank.
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On a positive note it was clean sheet number three in a row for the Blues, with Thiago Silva and Benoit Badiashile forming an impressive partnership. Concerns are still prominent though at the other end of the pitch with Kai Havertz particularly guilty of missing good chances, which saw criticism thrown his way.
"I think Kai Havertz needs a real coach behind him to improve what he does as a forward," Tony Cascarino told talkSPORT.
"Because at the moment, his goal ratio is the same every season. Who’s the top scorer for Chelsea in the Premier League this season? Kai Havertz. What’s his ratio? One [goal] in four [appearances].
"One in four for a leading club who should be trying to win things and challenge for the title is not enough. That is nowhere near the level of return that the manager needs. Graham Potter selects him so often, and I have my great reservations about Graham Potter’s style."
Despite spending £323million in the winter window, a world class striker is a spot yet to be filled in west London. It looked as though Romelu Lukaku was going to solve that issue when he signed for Chelsea in 2021 after guiding Inter to the Scudetto title, but his second spell at Chelsea has turned into a disaster.
The Blues are now said to be lining up a move for another striker who has been heavily amongst the goals in Italy's top flight. According to the Mirror, Todd Boehly will rival Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain for Victor Osimhen. The report insists that Napoli - who are currently top of Serie A - will demand around £100m for their striker.
Both clubs are in need of a natural striker to boost their respective ambitions for silverware in the coming seasons and therefore the 24-year-old could be the centrepiece of a lucrative Premier League bidding war in the summer.
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