The 2016 summer transfer window has been frenetic, hectic and crazy. Chelsea was one of the clubs who were busy till deadline day.
After enduring a miserable title defense last season (it was the worst one ever in the history of the Premier League), the Blues understandably went all out to bolster their squad. There was frustration on collapsed deals, but some important signings were also made.
Almost the whole squad fared poorly last season with the exception of Willian, and to a certain extent Cesar Azpilicueta. A centre-back was a top priority, with Terry ageing, Cahill himself not getting any younger and Ivanovic’s indifferent form. Chelsea also needed a decent striker as the future of Diego Costa was uncertain.
Two deals that Chelsea pursued all summer but failed to nail were those involving Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly and Everton striker Romelu Lukaku.
The Senegalese Koulibaly, 25, was supposed to be the ideal solution to Chelsea’s defensive frailties. The club went as far as to offer £38 million for the defender, which would have made him the costliest player in that position ever to have played in the Premier League. Apparently, Koulibaly himself wanted a move to Stamford Bridge but Chelsea never managed to strike a deal. This was most likely because Napoli could not find a replacement defender.
Belgium and former Blues player Lukaku was also on the verge of signing for the club, but the Toffees refused to part with the player even though Chelsea were prepared to submit a record fee of £65 million. Even Lukaku wanted to be back at Stamford Bridge but Everton stood firm.
Chelsea also went for James Rodriguez towards the end but the Colombian stayed put at Real Madrid. Leonardo Bonucci was another player who chose to stay at Turin rather than rejoin his former manager.
However, on the positive side, Chelsea made some really good signings that make them a formidable squad.
Ins:
In all Chelsea made six signings, including their manager.
Antonio Conte
Designation: Manager
After both Mourinho and Hiddink bid farewell to Stamford Bridge for the second time, it was Don Antonio who was given the responsibility of leading a Blues side that had gone astray.
While the enigmatic Italian does not have any experience of managing in the Premier League, his records and stats are pretty impressive. Having won three consecutive Scudettos, he had also managed the Italian national team, leading them to the quarter finals of Euro 2016 where they were narrowly edged out by the Germans in a penalty shoot-out.
Conte is known for his strict disciplinary regimes and one would think that the Chelsea team could do with some of that, after what happened with Mourinho last season. He has had an impressive start to the Premier League season, with Chelsea winning all three of their league games to be placed second in the league table. The players are playing with flair and there is proper coordination which the team seemed to lack last season.
Only time will tell how Conte fares in the long run, but right now, he looks a pretty effective manager.
Michy Batshuayi
Position: Forward
Transfer Fee: £33 million
The Belgian was Marseilles’s top scorer last season with 17 league goals. He was also part of the Belgian squad in the Euros and scored a goal against Hungary. Chelsea were quick to snap him up. It made sense signing the 22-year-old as he had pace, power and a sharp eye for goal. So far he has appeared only as a substitute in all of Chelsea’s matches but already has an assist and an important equalizer against Watford to his name. This is an important signing for the club not only for this season, but also in the long run. It will be interesting to see how he pairs up with Diego Costa up front as they can form a lethal strike force.
N’Golo Kante
Position: Midfielder
Transfer Fee: £32 million
Leicester City’s midfield engine from last season is now at Chelsea, with Conte quick to sign his second player. Kante had the most interceptions in the Premier League last season and has done the ‘cleaning up’ duties for Chelsea pretty well so far. He is another excellent signing and with him in the team on a regular basis, Chelsea’s midfield does seem pretty formidable.
Eduardo
Position: Goalkeeper
Transfer Fee: Undisclosed
EPA/Svein Ove Ekornesvaag
Cheslea signed Portuguese shot stopper Eduardo from Dinamo Zagreb a week before transfer deadline to provide competition for Thibaut Courtois and Asmir Begovic. The 33-year-old was Portugal’s first choice goalkeeper in the 2010 World Cup. While it remains to be seen how much opportunity he gets, he is a great second or third choice goalkeeper to have. Chelsea certainly should have no problem whatsoever in that department.
Marcos Alonso
Position: Left back
Transfer Fee: £23 million
The former Fiorentina left back has experience playing in the Premier League, having played for Bolton and Sunderland. However, a lot of Cheslea fans did not know anything about him till the Blues were actually pursuing him. Overall, he looks like a decent buy, and with him playing in the left back position means that Cesar Azpilicueta can move back to his natural right back position. Alonso has made 57 appearances for Fiorentina, scoring 4 times. But with most fans looking at him as a panic buy, he has a lot to prove.
David Luiz
Position: Centre-back
Transfer Fee: £34 million
While most Chelsea fans were ecstatic at the return of ‘Geezer’, there were a lot of neutrals who could not help but think this was a panic buy. Luiz had left Chelsea a couple of years back for £50 million, a record fee for a defender. However, one has to think that he is no longer the player he was at Chelsea. He was a Champions League winner, scored some brilliant goals. With his rough and tough defending, Luiz was a hit with the fans. Two years in Ligue 1 might have hampered his standards though. But this was arguably the signing of the season for Cheslea, one which no one was expecting after the failure to land Koulibaly, Romagnoli and Brozovic. One can expect Luiz to give his best, and no one questions his qualities. But it remains to be seen just how many Chelsea players have already forgotten him celebrating his goal against the Blues in the Champions League for PSG a couple of seasons ago.
Outs:
As many as 38 players are out on loan for Chelsea including Juan Cuadrado (Juventus), Loic Remy (Crystal Palace) Nathan Ake (Watford), Christian Atsu (Newcastle), Baba Rahman (Schalke), Patrick Bamford (Burnley), Andreas Christensen (Borussia Monchengladbach), Kenedy (Watford), Matt Miazga (Vitesse Arnhem), Mario Pasalic (AC Milan), Lucas Piazon (Fulham), Bertrand Traore (Ajax).
This is a very good way of doing business for Chelsea as they give their second choice players and youngsters first team action away to some other team while still having a hold on them.
The Verdict: 7.5
On the whole, it was an eventful transfer season for Chelsea, one in which they made pretty decent signings but failed to deliver certain expectations. However, the players signed are more than capable of making this team a title wining squad. On paper, at least, the team looks formidable.
