Chelsea have spent big this month as the club's new owners look to give Graham Potter the ammunition for a much-improved second half of the Premier League season.
We have just gone past the halfway point of the campaign for the Blues and 10th place is where they occupy at the time of writing. However, despite being mid-table, Chelsea are still managing to sign some of European football's brightest talents with Potter's long-term project clearly appealing to those outside of the club.
Three of Chelsea's six signings this month are attacking players, who are quite often used as wingers, but can also be deployed through the middle. Joao Felix joined on a six-month loan deal from Atletico Madrid, while Mykhailo Mudryk completed a big-money move from Shakhtar Donetsk, and Noni Madueke completed the attacking arrivals by joining on a permanent contract from PSV Eindhoven last week.
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It's a very exciting time for Chelsea supporters, who will possibly get to see all of their new signings in action when they take on Fulham next week. There is, however, the realisation that signing these talented footballers may block off the route into the first-team for some youngsters.
Recently, we've seen Lewis Hall break into the Chelsea senior squad and the 18-year-old has made a real impression. Hall came into the team for the Blues' Carabao Cup exit to Manchester City prior to the World Cup break and he has been a consistent presence ever since. He's played predominantly at left-back, or left wing-back, but the teenager was used in the centre of midfield at Anfield at the weekend.
Another man who has recently been mixing it with the first-team is Omari Hutchinson. The 19-year-old winger joined from Arsenal last summer, and has made two appearances in recent weeks for the Chelsea first-team.
His competitive debut for the Blues came in the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League earlier this month. He was unable to make a real statement despite the excitement surrounding his introduction, but that is completely understandable given his age, lack of experience and the world-class opposition.
Hutchinson made his second appearance against the same opposition just a few days later – this time it was in the FA Cup third round and at the Etihad Stadium. So, again, he can be cut plenty of slack for not looking like the real talent we all know he is on that day. In truth, not one Chelsea player would have been proud of their display in Manchester on that day.
That game, though, on January 8 was the last time we've seen Hutchinson in the Chelsea senior side. In fact, the Jamaica international hasn't even been in a match day squad since the heavy defeat against Man City – and this could be down to the new signings.
Felix obviously came in against Fulham and we all know how that ended up. Then, nine days later, Mudryk made the squad for the match at Anfield, with Felix still serving his three-match suspension. When Chelsea welcome Fulham to Stamford Bridge on February 3, there is every chance Madueke appears in the squad for the first time since joining.
It's bad news for Hutchinson who will see his development into the first-team somewhat blocked, but he needs to continue impressing at youth level and he will undoubtedly get his chance again. There are murmurs that Hutchinson could be sent out on loan to a Championship side as he looks to continue his progress by playing regular football at a really strong level.
Prior to the January transfer window and all the madness that has happened behind the scenes at Chelsea, Hutchinson explained how Potter and his coaching staff had given him scope to improve at Stamford Bridge. Speaking to the club's official website, Hutchinson said: "They give me the freedom on the pitch.
"They tell me to express myself, so that is all I can ask for really. Every day I come into Chelsea I just want to work hard, whether that's with the Under-21s or with the first-team."
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