Joao Felix signs for Chelsea
(Picture: Chelsea FC)Chelsea spent in excess of £300million during a frantic January transfer window to continue their extensive rebuild under the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership.
The Blues followed up a record-breaking summer outlay with a series of big signings in the winter market as spending under the new regime approaches the £580m mark.
Graham Potter is yet to fully convince in the dugout but continues to be backed as Chelsea look to build a team capable of challenging for the Premier League title in the not-so-distant future.
In:
Mykhailo Mudryk – Shakhtar Donetsk, £88.5m
Benoit Badiashile – Monaco, £33m
David Datro Fofana – Molde, £8.6m
Andrey Santos – Vasco de Gama, £12m
Joao Felix – Atletico Madrid, loan
Noni Madueke – PSV, £30.5m
Malo Gusto - £26m
Enzo Fernandez - £106.8m
Chelsea continue to look to strengthen their youth team as part of a strategy billed ‘Project 2030’, with the club hoping to build a competitive side under the first-team to step in and plug gaps in the short-term before succeeding them in the years to come.
The additions of Santos and Fofana do that, while there has been a clear focus on bringing in more attacking options on a senior basis. Mudryk, Felix and Madueke all offer goals, while Gusto has been signed to cover and compete with Reece James, although the Lyon star will not arrive until the summer. To cap it all off, Fernandez joins for a British record fee.
Out:
Jorginho – Arsenal, £12m
Jude Soonsup-Bell – Tottenham, free
Cesare Casadei – Reading, loan
Jorginho is obviously the headline departure, joining rivals Arsenal for £12m. While Chelsea failed to sign a midfielder ready for the first-team, the Italian was out of contract this summer anyway and would have left for free, so raising funds can hardly be considered a bad thing.
Soonsup-Bell, meanwhile, joins Spurs on a free transfer, though the Blues are entitled to a sell-on clause should Tottenham sell him. Hakim Ziyech and Omari Hutchinson’s deadline day exits collapsed.
