The 2022 summer transfer window was a mess. There's not really much doubt as far as that is concerned.
Chelsea went for so many different targets, but on a lot of their pursuits, they were either told "no", or another team – usually Barcelona – won the race. The Blues were determined to sign Raphinha from Leeds United and despite the deal looking to be advanced at one point, the Brazil international ended up moving to the Nou Camp.
The same sort of thing happened with long-term target Jules Kounde, who chose the Catalan side over Stamford Bridge. Matthijs de Ligt was another target Chelsea missed out on, although this time Bayern Munich trumped Chelsea.
