Chelsea in 2023: £760m transfer investment but squad is weaker now than in January
Cole Palmer hopes Chelsea have turned a corner by closing out the year with a nervy win away to Luton Town on Saturday. But the exciting forward remains a lone success story from a 2023 of unprecedented investment at Stamford Bridge.
“Hopefully this is just the start,” Palmer claimed at Kenilworth Road, having impressed once again as Chelsea went into a three-goal lead before almost throwing a second straight win away. “I’m still adapting to a new life, new team-mates, new city. The manager gives me trust and freedom so I’m very grateful to him and hopefully I can adapt as quickly as possible and keep repaying him.”
Yet Palmer stands out so much because almost all of the other arrivals in the two transfer windows of this rollercoaster year are yet to live up to expectations.
Eight players arrived in January with a dozen more signing in the summer window for a total spend of approximately £760m. A couple of the signings have been afflicted by injury - Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku. Others have shown glimpses of promise without ever consistently convincing - Noni Madueke, Axel Diasi.
And some are clear downgrades on what was there before - Robert Sanchez, Dorde Petrovic, Nicolas Jackson.
One of the most memorable moments of the year came when a man with a video camera approached people outside of the Bridge after the winter window closed and asked fans to name all the signings. No one could.
The calibre of players who left also means that at the beginning of 2024, Chelsea’s squad is weaker than it was on January 1, 2023.
Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovacic and Edouard Mendy may all have had their critics. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christian Pulisic and N’Golo Kante may have had significant injury problems in the past couple of
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