The man with the seemingly biggest wallet in the Premier League is signing the cheques again, as Chelsea owner Todd Boehly continues to back his head coach, latterly the recently appointed Enzo Maresca.
Having splurged the thick end of a billion pounds on players since his arrival at Stamford Bridge, the American businessman is yet to see a return on the club’s investment.
The Blues finished in sixth place last season, which is as good as it got in 2023/24, and it could have been significantly worse but for a fast finish under the outgoing Mauricio Pochettino.
Chelsea have already spent £60 million in this window, and that surely won’t be the end of it, while players will be shipped out to make a stab at balancing the books, including full-back Ian Maatsen, who was already sold to Aston Villa for a fee of between £35 million and £40 million..
While Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has bemoaned the sluggish start to the summer transfer window, citing the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules, it seems the Blues have matters in hand and have already signed 17-year-old Estevao Willian from Palmeiras for a whopping £29 million, so he must be some player.
Well, he’s a little behind Barcelona’s wonderkid Lamine Yamal, but Estevao did make something of a breakthrough last season, playing 10 times for Palmeiras in the Brazilian Premier League, scoring three goals, and making two assists, including one goal in the Copa do Brasil. His quick feet and speed of thought have earned him the nickname Messinho, and he’s also been likened to Selecao star Neymar.
So he has a lot to live up to, but Estevao comes into a huge squad. and he may well go out on loan. And that could also be the route that Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, signed from newly promoted Leicester City for a cool £30 million may take.
He was the first pick from his old club that Maresca made when he became Chelsea’s new manager. The attacking midfielder, now 25 years old, had a brilliant season in the Foxes’ promotion campaign, scoring 12 goals and making 14 assists, which made him an attractive proposition for the Stamford Bridge giants.
The fact that he could join his former manager Maresca made it an easy decision for Dewsbury-Hall, but he now has a challenge to make an impact at a higher level and under a hot spotlight.
The early Premier League 2024 betting odds here at SBOTOP pitch the Blues as fourth favourites behind Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool, and a top four place would represent some tangible progress.
So Maresca is under some pressure to get a strong run of Premier League 2024 results pretty quickly, and not only does he need to knit together an expensively assembled bunch of players, but he also needs to improve where he can.
It’s no secret that Chelsea have been tracking Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, who is a dead cert to leave Naples this summer. The Nigerian hitman has been a brilliant servant to the club, who won a first Scudetto in 30 years in 2023, largely thanks to his goals.
Over the past two days, Osimhen has started to look more likely to move to PSG and so the Blues may have to move on, but this potential deal also involves an outgoing player.
Centre forward Romelu Lukaku, who has been out on loan at Roma, could be offered as part of a swap with Napoli, and the player will be happy to link up with the Partenopei manager Antonio Conte, who he worked with at Inter Milan where they won a first Scudetto in 11 years. If Osimhen heads to Paris, then Chelsea and Napoli will open talks with a fee of around £35 million the target for the Belgian.
The Blues may look towards Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, but they will be in queue of admirers for the 22-year-old. Williams starred at Euro 2024, scoring in the final win over England and winning the Man of the Match award.
Williams has a release clause of €58 million, and that will represent excellent value for someone, maybe Boehly.
And then on the outgoings, surely Kepa Arrizabalaga is on his way out of Stamford Bridge. He cost the club an eye watering £71 million back in 2018, but he has fallen out of favour and was loaned out to Real Madrid last season, where he struggled to hold down a place in Carlo Ancelotti’s team.
At 29 years of age, Kepa needs regular football, and it seems that the Saudi Pro League may be his best option with Al Ittihad recently offering personal terms of £120,000 a week, but that one has gone a bit quiet and there is some way to go to complete the move.
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