There was no time this summer for Todd Boehly to ease into his role as Chelsea's interim sporting director. And the transfer window has proved something of a crash course for the American billionaire, who fronted the group that bought the club from Roman Abramovich at the end of May.
Yet nothing Boehly has experienced thus far will have truly prepared him for deadline day. It remains the most chaotic, opportunistic and unruly day in the football calendar. There will be deals to be done – big ones at that – yet it will be on Boehly and, to a lesser extent Thomas Tuchel to remain calm and not make a costly mistake.
The business concluded by Chelsea so far has been impressive, even if the process of identifying and pursuing talent has been slapdash at times. Raheem Sterling was first to arrive from Man City for £47.5million, and Kalidou Koulibaly followed from Napoli in a transfer worth £34m.
