Don’t let the recency effect completely cloud your perception of the Chelsea FC summer transfer window. Yes, they did really see a high number of players turn them down: Romleu Lukaku (went to Manchester United), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (went to Liverpool), Fernando Llorente (went to Tottenham Hotspur) and Ross Barkley (stayed at Everton).
However, manager Antonio Conte did also get some good deals over the line thus summer. It was like a “volume scorer” in basketball- lots and lots of shots were taken, with a few good ones going in.
Lukaku: rejects Chelsea
The Ox: rejects Chelsea
Llorente: rejects Chelsea
Barkley: (see above)#DeadlineDay pic.twitter.com/pgIiLpONmI
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) August 31, 2017
Chelsea FC Summer Transfer Window Major Additions: Striker Alvaro Morata, Midfielders Tiemoue Bakayoko and Danny Drinkwater, Defender Antonio Rudiger
Morata, a club record signing, could be a star in the making, and he doesn’t bring the baggage of Costa. Rudiger and Bakayoko strengthen positions of need for the Blues, who didn’t have to get that much better this summer, given how dominant they were last season. If the £35 million Drinkwater deal had a theme song, it would be that old dance tune by Australian pop princess Kylie Minogue: “it’s never too late, we still got time. It’s never too late, you can still be mine.”
Chelsea FC Summer Transfer Window Major Subtractions: Striker Diego Costa (not officially off the books, but he is gone), midfielder Nemanja Matic
The squad isn’t looking as strong as it did last season when the Blues got really scorching hot in September and just never looked back on their way to winning the Premier League title. Yes, that’s a rare, elite form which is difficult to replicate but they simply failed to fill out the roster enough for the added workload of UEFA Champions League football.
Losing Matic was a double whammy, as he truly looks like the missing keystone piece for United, and he’s helped make the Red Devils title front-runners.
Chelsea FC Summer Transfer Window Grade: C+ The Diego Costa situation is complicated, and he’s seems to be a difficult figure to deal with, but they could handled this a lot better. Actually, the Costa-Conte saga could not have been handled any worse, as it could actually play out in the courts now. It was just a weird window all around, on all levels. Even the Bakayoko signing was bizarre, with the former Monaco man trolling, or whatever that was he was supposed to be doing, on social media in the lead up to his announcement.
Morata thought he was going to United this summer before heading to Stamford Bridge, and of course all the aforementioned transfers that fell through before completion. They didn’t close every deal, but they were certainly entertaining along the way. Perhaps no team had a more interesting and dramatic summer transfer window than the Blues.
The Sports Bank Summer Transfer Window Grades
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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