With the summer transfer window heading into its final days, there are no prizes for guessing which Premier League club has spent the most on new players.
For the third window in a row, Chelsea have blown their rivals out of the water, signing 12 new players – and counting – to add to the 19 that joined last season.
The unprecedented overhaul of the squad has raised eyebrows across Europe – with rivals keen to see how Chelsea plan on complying with Financial Fair Play rules – while the instability contributed to the downfalls of Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard.
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Mauricio Pochettino, the fifth individual to assume the role of head coach at Chelsea during Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali’s ownership tenure, is embracing the substantial reconstruction of his team.
They outlined the club’s project, detailing both incoming and outgoing players. I agreed while fully aware of the upcoming changes in the squad.”
Chelsea’s squad has witnessed a significant decrease in average age. All their recent signings are under 25, with Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell, and Raheem Sterling as the sole outfield players aged 26 or older.
Pochettino remains unfazed by Chelsea’s beginning to the season, asserting that there’s “no cause for concern,” even as his team has only secured one point from the initial two matches.
The latest of these games was a humbling 3-1 loss to West Ham, in which Moises Caicedo, the British record signing from Brighton at £115 million, conceded a penalty during a tumultuous debut appearance from the substitutes’ bench.
However, Pochettino firmly believes in the abilities of the Ecuadorian player, and it’s likely that Chelsea is hoping he’ll follow in the footsteps of a recently departed club icon.
“I haven’t had the chance to work with [N’Golo] Kante, but [Caicedo] is undeniably one of the premier midfielders in the league,” Pochettino stated when asked about whether the 21-year-old could step into the shoes left by the French international.
“While Moises possesses some resemblances to Kante, he’s still young and must dedicate considerable effort to enhancing various aspects of his game. Nonetheless, he holds the potential to become one of the finest.”