Chelsea’s blockbuster spending spree shows no signs of slowing down with Noni Madueke set to become the latest high-profile arrival.
After purchasing the club from Roman Abramovich, new owners Todd Bohely and Clearlake Capital wasted no time in flexing their financial muscle. In their first summer window, the Blues spent a record breaking £278million on 11 players including the likes of Raheem Sterling, Marc Cucurella and Kalidou Koulibaly.
But Boehly was quickly taught that in football, spending the most doesn’t necessarily mean winning the most. Thomas Tuchel lasted just a matter of weeks before results ended his tenure, with Chelsea struggling in mid-table at the halfway point of the season.
But rather than be deterred by big spending, Boehly and Co. have doubled down and initiated another trolley dash during the January window. Mykhaylo Mudryk was the big ticket signing of the month, arriving at Stamford Bridge in a deal worth £87m.
Chelsea were happy to pay a premium in order to land a player that otherwise may have ended up at their local rivals Arsenal. Benoit Badiashile signed for £33m, while David Datro Fofana and Andriy Santos - two players for the future - arrived for £10m and £11m respectively.
Joao Felix signed on loan for a whopping fee of £9.7m - a value almost every other club in Europe baulked at and ignored. But the need for players to arrest the slide under Graham Potter has ensured that logic and caution have been thrown out the window.
And now PSV forward Madueke looks set to become the sixth January deal after reports claimed a £33m agreement had been reached with the Dutch giants. ED claims that after putting a ‘very big bag of money’ on the table, a deal was quickly agreed.
Madueke is now primed to travel to the capital and complete the formalities and be officially unveiled as yet another Chelsea transfer - bringing their total spend close to £200m. However, the fact it is yet another forward is sure to draw criticisms of the club’s haphazard transfer approach.
The Blues resemble a remarkably top-heavy team, with the need for a central midfielder and right-back still glaring. And Potter’s recent comments suggested that the balance of power when it comes to recruitment, doesn’t fall with the man in the dugout.
After signing Mudryk, he even hinted that he didn’t expect him to arrive: "You're never surprised in the transfer window because things happen sometimes like you don't expect. He (Mudryk) is a young player with a big future.
"He's exciting, one-versus-one, can threaten the goal. I think our supporters already like him. I'm the head coach and as you know, I've had enough to worry about and what is right for the club. If I'm here for the length of his contract, I'll be happy."
Potter's comments suggest he did not have much input into signing Mudryk, with technical director Christopher Vivell and new director of global talent and transfers Ben Winstanley directing transfer business. Winstanley held successful crunch talks with Shakhtar chiefs prior to the announcement of the signing.
Ultimately though, it will be Potter who has to get the best out of the richly assembled squad and with almost two weeks before the window closes again, there is a good chance more players could be on the way.
