No. Let’s just start off with that.
Let’s just start off with that.
Simply because the transfer market plays a huge role in determining what your blueprint is going to look like for the upcoming season. Not just tactically but also mentally. When a team manages to sign every player they lay their hands upon and bring in a fresh pool of talent, the atmosphere at the said club is always buzzing. From the management, to the players, to the supporters – everyone walks around with a sense of pride and that wee bit of arrogance.
But Chelsea can boast nothing of that sort. While the Londoners have brought in a few influential signings but the harsh reality remains that they have missed out on a series of players. While most of them have been scooped up by rival teams, some have out right rejected a transfer.
It all started with Chelsea missing out on Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian was supposed to return back to Chelsea and Alvaro Morata was heading to Manchester United as Mourinho’s new hitman. But somewhere in London, both the players switched seats and Lukaku ended up at the doors of Old Trafford. This meant that Chelsea had to settle for Morata – a wonderful player none the less, but not what Chelsea were looking for.
Then came the Blue Board’s blunder where the club handed over Nemanja Matic to Manchester United and this proved to be the ace in the deck that Mourinho had been wanting for so long.The Blues realised what they had done and quickly spread the news that they would be going after Danny Drinkwater as a potential replacement. That’s like buying a Beetle for a Bugatti.
Then there were the occasional Sandros who kept on rejecting a move to Chelsea.
The fans were growing restless, Conte was getting furious and the Board was sweating all time long.
Then came the news that Chelsea would be trying to make atleast four signings on deadline day. The Blues were going to buy Ross Barkley, Drinkwater, Fernando Llorente and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain. Finally the faithfuls at Stamford Bridge could see their transfer window getting back on track before the final station approached.
But little did they know that these last 48 hours were going to make them the but of most jokes circulating on Twitter.
So this is what had happened.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain chose Liverpool over Chelsea that too at a much lower wage structure. Fernando Llorente came to London but Mauricio Pochettino jumped the queue and signed up the Spaniard. And Ross Barkley changed his mind midway through a medical at the Cobham and returned back to Everton.
They did manage to sign Drinkwater and also Davide Zappacosta from Torino but the big question is – Is that enough?
The fans don’t think so. The pundits don’t think so.
Chelsea now have only one top class striker amongst their rank in the form of Morata. And his partner for the season is going to be Michy Batsuayi who, we must admit is a brilliant header of the ball but can sometimes get confused with the directions. And even a layman can say that these two will not be enough to dominate the Premier League – forget about Europe.
But how can so many players reject a defending Premier League champion? It’s not about money. Chamberlain rejected a 220k contract at Chelsea to sign a 140K deal with Liverpool. It not about game time – Llorene does not expect to get move game time over Harry Kane.
So what is it that makes Conte and his team so undesireable?
We might never get to know?
But what we know is that Chelsea have started this season on the back foot, and it is up to the Italian’s grit and his player’s determination to prove everyone wrong.
