The Pride of London rate every single signing from Chelsea’s near £500million spending spree since chairman and co-owner Todd Boehly took CFC’s helm.
In total, the Blues have brought in 15 new faces with a total expenditure of £493million. A stunning sum. In fact, Fabrizio Romano says the west London outfit will potentially recruit more stars and will be “busy” before the window shuts at the end of the month.
By February, we could be looking at a very different and potent Chelsea side, if you ask me. By the way, the aforementioned figure includes a £53m allocation for Christopher Nkunku to join in the summer from RB Leipzig.
How was Chelsea’s money spent, and what The Pride of London expect from each individual. Below is a list containing every acquisition, in highest to lowest price order:
Mykhailo Mudryk, winger, £88million. Bought from Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine.
Mudryk’s cameo at Anfield versus Liverpool raised spectators from their seats. He could go down as a Premier League great – mark my words!
Wesley Fofana, centreback, £72m. Bought from Leicester City, England.
I also cover Leicester City for FanSided so I have seen and heard everything from the Frenchman. On the pitch, most of it was good. Very good. Fitness is key.
Marc Cucurella, fullback/wingback, £58m. Bought from Brighton & Hove Albion, England.
Cucurella was a signing that I presumed would succeed. However, looking at how he’s performed and the price tag, the switch has been a relative disaster.
Christopher Nkunku, second striker/forward £53m. Bought from RB Leipzig, Germany.
This guy is gonna light up the Premier League in 2023/24, I’m sure of it. Hopefully he doesn’t go the way of Christian Pulisic, another talented attacker who joined with a high profile from Germany.
Raheem Sterling, winger, £50m. Bought from Manchester City, England.
I’m unsure why Sterling was captured, aside from being a big name and a stopgap wingman. Some of the new additions far exceed his capabilities.
Kalidou Koulibaly, centreback, £34m. Bought from Napoli, Italy.
Koulibaly is another one most of us thought would be the new Antonio Rudiger – that expectation didn’t work out.
Benoit Badiashile, centreback, £33.5m. Bought from AS Monaco, France.
Badiashile was one for the future, but he’s done very well whilst being chucked in at the deep end. Promising.
Noni Madueke, winger, £29m. Bought from PSV Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
Madueke has been described as explosive, skilful and the perfect complement for Mudryk. The fee is much more realistic, yet the Englishman shouldn’t be underestimated because of it being lower. At 20, he might be a Blues entertainer for years to come.
Cesare Casadei, everywhere in midfield, £17.5m. Bought from Inter Milan, Italy.
We now enter into the phase where lots of ‘ones for the future’ arise. Casadei is the archetypal prospect. Having such a high price at a young age signals pedigree. This guy is learning to be a complete midfielder: he can score, break up and link play.
Carney Chukwuemeka, attacking midfielder, £16m. Bought from Aston Villa, England.
Chukwuemeka has also had first team minutes; some of what he did worked, other moves didn’t. The 19-year-old has many skills and should be kept an eye on.
Andrey Santos, central or defensive midfield, £11m. Bought from Vasco da Gama, Brazil.
Santos’ dazzling form for Brazil Under-20s has caught the eye. Definitely an intriguing acquisition.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, striker, £10.5m. Bought from Barcelona, Spain.
A temporary solution that, at this stage, is better off forgotten.
David Datro Fofana, centreforward or winger, £10.5m. Bought from Molde, Norway.
Datro Fofana has made the senior bench a few times, he was also impressive when making his debut versus Manchester City in the FA Cup.
Joao Felix, winger, £9.5m. A loan from Atletico Madrid, Spain).
Red card aside, this guy will surely be very classy for the Chelsea team.
Gabriel Slonina, Goalkeeper, £8m. Bought from Chicago Fire, United States.
The 18-year-old is the youngest stopper to start a match for USMNT. Wow.
Denis Zakaria, midfielder, £2.5m. A loan from Juventus, Italy.
I really like Zakaria, he’d be a good permanent addition at CFC.