Chelsea seem to have taken a step back this season, both in terms of results and performances. Coming into the campaign, there were those who believed that the Blues could be Premier League contenders on the back of their Club World Cup success. But merely over a month into the campaign and now there are question marks about whether they will even make the top four.
Of course, it is not all down to the team, coaching or board. Nobody could have foreseen the injuries picked up by Liam Delap, Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill. That being said, the strategy employed in the summer transfer window needs to be questioned as well.
Chelsea had set themselves up well, after the Club World Cup success, to go out and transform into Premier League contenders by making some proven and experienced signings this summer. Instead, they brought in more raw and unproven talents, who might or might not succeed.
Now, it has been claimed that the club are not even aiming to build a squad that is capable of seriously challenging for the Premier League at this point in time. As reported by The Chelsea Chronicle, Matt Law said on the London is Blue Podcast:
"Their belief is they could try and build a squad to win the Premier League this minute that would have a better chance probably of winning the Premier League, say, this season. But they don’t believe that would necessarily set them up well for the future. What they’re trying to do is build a winning squad which probably won’t win immediately in terms of the very biggest prizes.
“But they hope that by the time it gets to the stage where it does win that it’s set up to win and win and win and win. And only really time will tell whether that’s right or wrong. It’s kind of impossible to judge it."
Journalist makes Chelsea claim that will worry the fans
Of course, for many fans, this is starting to feel like a never-ending cycle. The Noni Madueke saga is the perfect example of that.
Madueke had been signed as someone who could one day develop into these 'future winners'. This summer, he moved to Arsenal and was replaced by Jamie Gittens, who does not look ready to contribute as a starter at the moment.
At Chelsea, it looks like it is always about winning in the future, not now. But that 'now' has to arrive at some point. It feels like the club are too concerned about reinventing the wheel rather than trying to win in the way everybody does.
It has been three-plus years of this now. And have the results justified this approach? Other than a Club World Cup win and one top four finish, there is not much the Blues have got to show for that time, despite spending more money than anybody else in the league.
Also, how long will top players like Cole Palmer and Moises Caicedo stick around if there is no progress at Chelsea? They might not have the same patience that the club are showing.