Why has Chelsea been so inactive this transfer window?

The transfer window started on 11th June 2021 for Chelsea and others, just before the commencement of Euros 2020. Since then, it has been more than a month and no massive transfer dealings have happened except for Jadon Sancho to Manchester United for £72.6 million. This has been the case more likely because of an international tournament being played in a transfer window which slows down any deals from progressing further. But even after the conclusion of Euros 2020, there are no massive updates regarding incomings from Chelsea.

The lack of new signings has made many fans frustrated and impatient for new updates as all along we knew that the club will be signing a new striker after Timo Werner’s difficult start in the English top flight. One name being linked is the Norwegian striker, Erling Haaland. Despite the window being open for more than a month now, there have been no new updates regarding the Borussia Dortmund striker and no new additions have been made to the first team. Why has the club has been so silent in the window?

In my previous article, it was mentioned that Chelsea has more than 10 first-team players and more than 10 academy players on their books with only a year left on their contract. If anyone is familiar with the number of players the club has on its books, it was clear that this summer the club would prioritize selling players. This is exactly what is happening right now. The Blues have a bunch of fringe players in their books which they need to get rid off to balance the financial sheets, free up wages and raise funds for future transfer targets like Erling Haaland and Declan Rice.

Chelsea has made a few sales by selling players like Fikayo Tomori, Victor Moses, Olivier Giroud, Marc Guehi, and Pierri Ekwah, raising more than £50 million combined. These sales have also helped the club free up the wage bill. Having a rich owner like Roman Abramovich, many people expect the Russian billionaire to just keep pumping in money to the club. Just to remind all the fans, Chelsea Football Club is a business after all and it is so successful due to the club’s ability to sell players for a profit most of the time.

With the primary targets of Chelsea at the top of their games, wanted by a host of clubs and costs significant amounts of money, especially when you take into account the teams they are playing for, the agent fees, signing on fees, and more. Trying to deal with clubs who have all the cards while selling their most prized assets can be a very difficult deal to conclude.

Borussia Dortmund has set a price tag of £150 million for Erling Haaland and the club is ready to lose millions just to keep the striker for another season. When it comes to West Ham, last season they were asking £80 million for Declan Rice and not budging on their price tag and now they have raised their price to £100 million. The fact that the English midfielder still has three years left on his contract hence why the very high price tag.

Personally, I think Chelsea will sign either one or two players at the least this summer. I expect a defender and a striker. Who they are, we will have to see and wait for any significant updates. Definitely keep an eye on the Declan Rice deal because West Ham is looking to sign a striker and Chelsea is looking to offload Tammy Abraham. So in the future, we can expect a player-plus cash deal. But all I would like to say to all the Chelsea fans is, be patient and calm knowing fully that the board is working fully behind the scenes.