What the World Cup does for transfers in January nobody knows, but that doesn't stop the rumour mill or hypothesis.
On one hand it could massively inflate the market as clubs at the top end are desperate to bring in the latest stars after an international tournament - see the James Rodriquez or Harry Maguire handbook - but it could also provide an important time to restock squads that are burning on empty.
For Chelsea, 12 of their players will be going to Qatar. Add in that Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana, N'Golo Kante and Reece James as injured, Graham Potter will be without 16 players over November and December.
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Now, most of these players will return and be ready to play domestic football again over the New Year period, some may have new injuries, some may still be recovering and some will be fine, this is all in the land of unknown. Chelsea were already planning on getting work done in January in order to continue their squad overhaul, January will only play into their hands.
The issue is that if they are still keen on signing certain players, like Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Rafael Leao or Christopher Nkunku, they could all come out of the tournament into a pricier market. Nkunku is likely a deal more tied down, there is a pre-agreement between Chelsea and RB Leipzig, but that wouldn't stop Real Madrid coming in for him and trumping the Blues if the Frenchman has an incredible tournament.
That's issue one, issue two could be that the price on Bellingham rises and puts Chelsea into an increased value bidding war with some of the wealthiest teams on the planet, and with Rice also on the summer list, they may have a big decision to make. Leao is in a similar boat, should he fire for Portugal then the £127m release clause may be a final port of call.
Where this could hurt Chelsea the most is with players that may cost less. Midfield target Edson Alvarez is valued at £30.5m currently by Transfermarkt. Chelsea made a £43m bid for him late in the summer, if he was to have a good competition in Qatar then that may rise dramatically.
Financial experts Saxo have drilled into the numbers and there is a trend for players post-World Cup to go for much higher fees. Marcos Rojo to Manchester United in 2014 went for 300% more than his Transfermarkt value, if that were to happen for Chelsea and Alvarez then the Mexican would cost more than £120m.
Of the top 10 price rises for World Cup performing players since 2010, four have been into the Premier League too, demonstrating a precedent for this raise. Chelsea themselves have been caught out, they signed Ramires after the 2010 World Cup for more than double his worth.
Chelsea also went in for Antonio Conte as a manager the same summer as his Italy team got to the quarter-finals. The Blues also signed Kante after that tournament as he got to the final, though £30m for a Premier League winner was a steal.
It's perhaps ironic now that Chelsea are looking to replace Kante after this tournament. Should Alvarez be a star and Todd Boehly want to go back in for him, they may regret not getting it over the line earlier in the summer.
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