Chelsea stormed to Premier League glory last season but finding success in the transfer window has proved to be a lot more difficult, with the Blues struggling to get major deals over the line and missing out on top-targets.
Progress has been made in the last few weeks though as Antonio Conte’s side got deals for Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoue Bakayoko over the line but there was still a lot of work to be done. However, the Blues have finally made the statement of intent they needed to.
Having seen Arsenal sign Alexandre Lacazette, Liverpool land Mohamed Salah, Manchester City sign Bernardo Silva and Manchester United win the race for Romelu Lukaku, the Premier League champions needed to secure a huge deal of their own- and that has now been wrapped up.
The Blues have landed Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid in a club-record deal, surpassing the £50m figure that Chelsea paid Liverpool for Fernando Torres previously, and he arrives to slot straight into the first-team, making Diego Costa’s exit from West London increasingly imminent. There are still question marks about whether or not Costa will leave the club in January, perhaps it is worth checking the odds over at Bet365, try this Bet365 bonus code if you fancy a punt on the Brazilian-born enigmatic Spanish striker.
Morata has a strong record in Europe from his spells with Real Madrid and Juventus, although he admittedly isn’t quite regarded to be in the same calibre as Lukaku and Lacazette- but he can slot nicely into Conte’s system, potentially making himself as a key-player.
At 24, the La Liga and Champions League winner has plenty of time to develop but he will be thrown into the deep end immediately at Chelsea, as the Blues need the striker to hit the ground running and fill the void that will be left from Diego Costa’s likely return to Atletico Madrid.
Crucially though, parting with a club-record fee shows Chelsea are prepared to make headlines ahead of their Premier League title defence and they will not make the same mistakes as they’ve previously done following domestic success, when a casual approach to the following transfer window has proved problematic.
Chelsea now need further signings to strengthen the depth within their squad ahead of the club’s return to the Champions League but the major and most important pieces of transfer business are now complete, which will lead fans to breath a huge sigh of relief.