Chelsea made 13 signings in the 2023 summer transfer window, and five of those players are yet to make a single competitive appearance for the west London side. Of those five, four are aged 20 years old or younger, leaving only Christopher Nkunku, who got injured in the preseason and has not been fit since the season started. Eight players that were signed in the summer have played and started several games, except Djorde Petrovic and Deivid Washington who have played one game and started none. Here is how the Pride of London rates the Blues' summer acquisitions that have played up to 300 minutes in Stamford Bridge blue.
Axel Disasi, Centerback, £38.5m: 7/10
Disasi has been good for the most part, especially when you consider that he was thrown into his first Premier League season with no preseason from Day 1. He has played several roles and has been very useful for Mauricio Pochettino considering that Chelsea had injuries to three senior centerbacks since he came in. He has been very good in the air, and no one on the team has more clean sheets for the Blues in the league this season.
Nicolas Jackson, Striker, £30.1m: 7/10
Jackson has divided opinions. Some think he has been a flop because of how many big chances he has missed, some think he has been great because of how much work he does every game. He does bring his teammates into play a lot and has been a crucial element for the Blues in terms of holdup play, buildup, and shot-taking. He has also missed many big chances. He has been a net positive though, because missing chances are part and parcel of a striker's day-to-day life. Jackson's shooting has been good, and his big chance conversion has been better than Erling Haaland's this season, finishing 38% of his non-penalty big chances, to Haaland's 33%. Haaland is still the better shooter, as his shots are, on average, 0.25 xG each. Jackson's shots are 0.23 xG on average, which is still quite high. Haaland also keeps 54% of his shots on target, compared to 45% of Jackson's. Jackson has done well in his first Premier League season at 22.
Robert Sanchez, Goalkeeper, £25m: 6/10
Sanchez has been just OK. Some fans will disagree, but all the metrics point to Sanchez doing exactly what is expected of him. His distribution has generally been good. He has made some errors in goal, but the defense in front of him has hardly been settled or good, which explains why he has faced 4.9 shots per game on his goal, a particularly high number but one that is not so surprising when you remember that the Blues are 13th.
Moises Caicedo, Central midfielder, £115m: 5/10
Caicedo has been underwhelming since he came in. He had a horrific debut for Chelsea when he came on against West Ham United and made two errors leading to a goal including a penalty conceded. The Ecuador international has not hit the ground running, though he has had good moments. Unfortunately, this rating considers the expectation that came with the player, and so far, Blues fans are not calling the record British signing money well spent.
Lesley Ugochukwu, Central midfielder, £23.5m: 7/10
Ugochukwu doesn't have much to be judged on league-wise, having started only two league games so far. He has done very well in the cup though, and has played all three EFL Cup games so far for Chelsea.
Cole Palmer, Winger, £42.5m: 8/10
Palmer has been very good for Chelsea since he came in. He has started 9/14 league games but has been mostly impactful in all 14 league games he has featured. He has been an integral part of the Blues attack and ranks second behind Enzo Fernandez for progressive passes completed per 90 minutes (per90), completing 7.1 per90, according to FBRef. He also ranks top three for key passes per90 (2.1), expected assists per90 (0.34), and tops the chart for passes into the penalty area per90 (2.43). When you consider that he came in as a youngster who couldn't get a game at Manchester City, he has proven to be a very good player indeed.