Man City have broken Real Madrid’s record for the highest spend in a single transfer window, largely to satisfy Pep Guardiola’s obsession with full-backs. Real set the record back in 2009 when they recruited Champions League and Balon d’Or winners like Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, and they held onto it for eight years. City have finally broken it by snapping up reasonably decent full-backs, but their new record is not to last long. Not if Roman Abramovich has his way.
The Blues owner is not content to watch City have all the fun in the summer transfer window and has been busy playing catch up in recent days. Alvaro Morata and Timoue Bakayoko have joined the revolution for a little over £100 million, but Chelsea have a long way to go before overtaking Man City’s outlay, which stands north of £200 million.
Antonio Conte was frustrated at the initial failure to sign key targets like Romelu Lukaku and Leonardo Bonucci, and rumours abounded that he would quit after just one season in charge, with suitors aplenty in his homeland. But he has now signed an improved deal and the successful coach is set to stay. It seems highly likely that Ambramovich promised to back him to the hilt in the transfer window, and signs are looking very positive for Blues fans.
The Blues are now targeting four new signings that would take their total spend to £250 million, eclipsing City and even staying ahead of Real if they complete a mega money move for Kylian Mbappe. The quartet being lined up is Alex Sandro, Antonio Candreva, Fernando Llorente and Virgil van Dijk.
Conte has been keen on Sandro for a long time and Juventus have been stubborn in their refusal to play ball, but it is now thought a £60 million bid will be enough to persuade them to do business. If they do so, Abramovich will have out-full-backed Man City in one fell swoop, breaking the record they have twice set this summer for the most expensive defender in history. Where has this obsession with full-backs come from? Probably Chelsea, who romped to the title last season thanks largely to the energetic wing-back play of Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses. Hence Guardiola’s obsession and the sudden demand for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who played well for Arsenal in that role towards the end of the campaign.
Candreva is a versatile midfielder currently plying his trade at Inter. He would provide cover, as would Llorente, a journeyman striker with a good eye for goal but not enough about him to be a regular starter ahead of Morata. The one that would really excite fans would be Van Dijk. Odds have tumbled from 16/1 to 4/1 on him joining Chelsea in the past 24 hours. Liverpool were frontrunners but they have drifted out from 1/5 to 4/9, and the pendulum could be swinging Chelsea’s way. He is a titan at the back and would provide stern competition for Gary Cahill and David Luiz at the heart of the Chelsea defence.
It all spells very exciting times for Chelsea fans, and the bookmakers have not yet caught up. Still City, who finished well below Chelsea last season and have made some frankly baffling signings this summer, are the outright favourites to win the title. Check a review of betting sites, find a reputable one and back Chelsea to win the league again next season. Odds of 7/2 being bandied about by multiple bookies are simply too good to ignore. City are 15/8 and that is outrageous when you consider Chelsea started the summer as the better team – with a Premiership crown to prove it – and have since been far shrewder in the transfer market, while also displaying a similar level of ambition.