When it came to the art of spending money during the summer transfer window few were better at it than Chelsea.
After securing a respectable fourth-placed finish in Frank Lampard's first season in charge at Stamford Bridge last term, the Blues' hierarchy made the decision to loosen the purse strings and hand the Chelsea head coach a transfer war-chest in a bid to turn themselves back into genuine Premier League title challengers.
In total, the Blues drafted in seven new recruits, including the likes of Edouard Mendy, Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner, all of whom were big-money additions.
Though the Blues, who discovered on Monday evening that they will face Championship side Luton Town in the fourth round of the FA Cup, could be delighted with the business they achieved during the summer, they were still desperate to sign Declan Rice from West Ham United.
Rice had been a long-term target of the Blues', with Lampard keen to add a new defensive-midfielder to his ranks. However, West Ham's demands simply proved to be too great, meaning Chelsea were unable to end a memorable summer window with one final bang.
With the January window now in full swing, Rice, who will have aspirations of representing England at this summer's European Championships, is continuing to be linked with a move to Stamford Bridge. But with Chelsea having splashed the cash so heavily during the summer, plus the ongoing impacts of the coronavirus crisis, it is highly unlikely that they will launch a move for the midfielder this month.
The same, too, must be said in regards to Borussia Dortmund sensation Erling Haaland. In recent weeks, reports in the Italian media have claimed that Lampard has told Chelsea's hierarchy to prioritise a move for the Norway international this month, despite having bolstered his attacking options with the signing of Werner back in June.
Haaland is considered as the most promising, exciting talent in world football, with the 20-year-old having already made a real name for himself at former club Red Bull Salzburg and now Dortmund.
This season alone, the youngster has netted 19 goals in 16 games in all competitions, highlighting his talents. On Saturday, Haaland netted a brace to help Dortmund secure a 3-1 away win over RB Leipzig, setting yet another record in his young and glistening career.
His double against Leipzig meant that he became the first player in Bundesliga history to score 25 goals in his first 25 league games.
Hamburg legend Uwe Seeler's long-standing record of 23 goals in the same number of games dates back to the Bundesliga's maiden season in 1963-64.
To be breaking those kind of records at such a tender age speaks volumes about the type of player Haaland is and what he can achieve in his career. To put into even greater context just how lethal Haaland is in front of goal, the striker has scored his first 25 Bundesliga goals from just 73 shots, which works out a very, very impressive 34.24 per cent conversion rate.
Haaland also averages a league goal once every 75 minutes, which is a better ratio than any other player in Bundesliga history to have netted ten goals or more.
Taking into account all of those statistics, Chelsea may be tempted to launch an ambitious move for the Norwegian this summer, particularly if Werner's Premier League form fails to improve.
Haaland has a £68million release clause in his contract, but that does not become active until 2022, meaning that Chelsea would be almost certainly be forced to pay a much, much higher fee if they were to try and land his signature this forthcoming summer.
But with Dortmund likely to dig their heels in, as well as interest from the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid, Chelsea's hopes of landing Haaland would require a lot of hard work, and money, to come true.
Nevertheless, if Chelsea want to become a dominant force in England, as well as in Europe, a player of Haaland's qualities could be exactly what they need.
