Chelsea: Blowing £150m in the smartest way possible this summer

Chelsea is allegedly sitting on £150 million for transfers this summer. With several spots needing strengthening, how can the Blues spend smartly?

The two hardest things to keep in mind about transfer windows are A: resources are finite and B: those resources are constantly shifting. Before COVID-19, it was generally accepted that Chelsea had somewhere in the neighborhood of £150 million to spend.

A few things are now unclear about that number. Did Hakim Ziyech’s of about £34 million come out of that number? Has COVID-19 forced those funds to be allocated elsewhere? And has the crisis caused that £150 million to inflate or deflate?

All of those questions will not be clear for some time yet but Chelsea will still need to do business this summer regardless. The Blues will need to look at how far they can stretch that 150 million out when several spots need strengthening. That in turn may change the targets the Blues are most interested in.

The big money signings are obviously the ones that will be of the most concern. Kai Havertz is inching his way into the spotlight as of late but the Jadon Sancho interest will not go away anytime soon. The problem with both is that they would take up close to £100 million of that transfer budget. They would be worth the price, but Chelsea would have very little wiggle room to continue strengthening beyond them. At most, the Blues would be looking at one of these players plus someone much cheaper.

Next up are the costly signings, but ones that are more midrange comparatively. Phillipe Coutinho, Timo Werner, and Ben Chilwell would fall into this category. They range from £52 million in Werner’s case to somewhere between £70 and £80 million in the case of Coutinho. These lower numbers would allow the Blues to bring in decent to great options while still having the flexibility to bring in others. This would mean Chelsea could potentially bring in two of these players or bring in one and probably another two cheaper players.

Finally would be the more “bargain” buy options. These are the players who are expected to be about £40 million tops and most are cheaper than that. This is where Alex Telles’ low release clause and Andre Onana’s ridiculously low asking price come into play. These are very good players that would have virtually no downside to bringing in. They could pair well with one of the more expensive signings, or both could slide in with the midrange signings.

Of course, there is also the vital factor of player sales as well. Chelsea’s £150 million is, in large part, the Eden Hazard transfer fee. If the Blues are looking to move anyone on, such as Michy Batshuayi, Ross Barkley, or either (or both) left back(s), then that number could rise. That is not to mention the deadwood Chelsea still has kicking about that could further raise the £150 million to over £200 million.

But it is all about what would be the smartest play for Chelsea overall. The Blues need a player who can share some of the goal scoring burden with Tammy Abraham and a new left back that can be trusted long term. A keeper to challenge Kepa Arrizabalaga would also be nice, as would a big splash to announce Chelsea’s intentions for the future.

Assuming just the £150 million on the table, transfers of Onana, Telles, and Werner would be the smartest combination. That would come in at only £110 million (thanks release clauses!) and it would provide Chelsea a potentially world class keeper, a cheap yet solid left back that will allow flexibility in the future, and a striker who can play wide so he can play alongside Abraham instead of in his place. The £40 million left over could be buffered by player sales and, if enough is acquired, the Blues could then turn their attention towards Sancho or Havertz later in the window.

Of course, all of that would be in an ideal world. And in an ideal world, some of that 150 million would have been spent in January before things ground to a halt. But the overall idea has not changed. The Blues can strengthen much more than some of their rivals this summer. They can be smart about it and set Frank Lampard up for success for years to come.

Who would you like to see Chelsea spend the war chest on? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!