Chelsea are playing a high-risk game that could come back to bite them as they thread a fine line of not falling foul of financial fair play regulations.
That is the briefest summary of the implications an unprecedented transfer spend will have on a club that may be emphasising the importance of a long-term project but is now in desperate need of making an unlikely charge towards the Champions League places.
Noni Madueke, the England U-21 forward, is set to become the sixth signing of the January window so far to take the club’s outlay in the past two windows to about £420m. And they are expected to continue splurging, with a holding midfielder and supplementary right back still on the wishlist.
