It is a statement that never fails to amaze you. Newcastle United have assembled the meanest backline in the top-flight for less than what Chelsea paid for a single defender, Wesley Fofana, last summer.
If ever Newcastle's critics needed reminding that there is a lot more to the Magpies finishing in the top four than an ability to spend. Chelsea, after all, have endured their worst ever Premier League season off the back of a record £600m splurge.
However, there is a reason why Eddie Howe has predicted 12th-placed Chelsea will be a 'big threat' under new manager Mauricio Pochettino next season. "They have got top quality players - that's undoubted - but trying to form a team very quickly with a lot of new players is very difficult to do," the Newcastle boss said.
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If anything, Chelsea have had too many options. Even Chelsea's bench against Newcastle on the final day cost an estimated £339m in transfer fees.
Yes, Chelsea have spent poorly, but the Blues were still able to throw on Fofana, Mateo Kovacic, Carney Chukwuemeka, Christian Pulisic and Joao Felix against Newcastle on Sunday. It said it all that Mykhailo Mudryk did not even get on the field during the 1-1 draw. Now that is depth.
Newcastle, in contrast, had two goalkeepers on the bench in Loris Karius and Mark Gillespie. Jamal Lewis made his first top-flight appearance since October. Paul Dummett, a valued member behind the scenes, was named among the substitutes, having not featured in the Premier League all season. Youngsters Harrison Ashby and Lewis Miley have bright futures, and were rightly rewarded with places in the match day squad, but injuries elsewhere meant the pair's inclusions were a necessity as well as a tribute to their performances in training.
Newcastle were missing Nick Pope, Javier Manquillo, Matt Ritchie, Joelinton and Joe Willock on the final day, and the black-and-whites looked especially stretched as a result. Given what lies ahead in Europe in the next campaign, Newcastle will need further quality to cope with three-game weeks. As obvious as it sounds, Howe will have to rotate more than he has this season and the Newcastle head coach has said, himself, that naming unchanged sides will be 'impossible', recognising there are areas of the squad that 'aren't strong enough in terms of depth'.
Howe commented after Sunday's 1-1 draw on how Chelsea made some 'really good substitutions with high-quality players coming onto the pitch'. The Newcastle boss acknowledged his side were 'not there yet', even if they finished 27 points above the beleaguered Blues in the table, and stressed the Magpies need to 'bolster our resources'.
"We go into a lot of competitions next year so we need the depth," he told reporters. "This year, we've been light in certain areas of the pitch.
"We've carried four midfielders in the second half of the season so you're one injury away from a very difficult situation so we need a little bit more depth. Certainly, with three games in a week next year, we are going to be stretched."
Howe made a similar point just a few days after Newcastle's Carabao Cup final defeat against Manchester United back in February. The Newcastle boss spoke then of how his side needed 'investment to really compete at the elite levels', going as far as to say he required a 'bigger squad'.
As it stands, Newcastle would not have the means to cope with fighting on four fronts next season. Indeed, on the rare occasion the club's fringe players have been given a run-out, in the FA Cup third-round defeat against Sheffield Wednesday, for example, a 2-1 loss at Hillsborough only served to highlight how Newcastle lacked options in reserve.
It is important to note that, when everyone is fit, Newcastle have had the luxury of introducing Allan Saint-Maximin, Anthony Gordon and Callum Wilson as substitutes at various points in recent months. However, Newcastle will need another elite midfielder, left-back, centre-back and wide forward to take a squad that has already over-achieved to the next level.
These players do not come cheap, of course, but Newcastle have already showed they can be smart in the transfer market without spending anywhere near as much as some of their rivals. Just ask Chelsea.
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