With their summer spending set to exceed £200m, Chelsea are getting some smart business done before tackling a gruelling 2025-26 season

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For the last two decades, Chelsea have sought to dominate the transfer market one way or another. When Roman Abramovich rocked up at Stamford Bridge in 2003, he immediately dropped £120 million – roughly £220m in today's money with inflation taken into account – on new players, catapulting the Blues from mere top-four contenders into an elite class capable of winning the Premier League and Champions League. Even despite being banned from spending for two windows from 2019 to 2020, the west London club have still forked out upwards of £2bn since.

In the BlueCo era, Chelsea have continued to splash the cash, though on younger talent rather than proven superstars, ditching their Galactico-lite policy for one more resembling an expensive Brighton. After three years in the wilderness of transition, they have started to show signs of consistent improvement and re-established themselves as an exciting team with the potential to challenge for major honours.

After already acquiring Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr and Liam Delap in the first mini-window of June, Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens and versatile Brighton attacker Joao Pedro are set to be next in through the Cobham doors. Again, Chelsea's prolific spending has been questioned, but there is a little more method behind their madness this time around.

Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportTwo gaps to fill

The eye-rolls which come with every transfer rumour involving Chelsea are, in fairness, warranted. Despite their evolution in three seasons of BlueCo's ownership, there has been a staggering amount of action and turnover in each window since their takeover in 2022. Premier League finishes of 12th, sixth and fourth represents the club's worst three-year stretch since the pre-Abramovich days.

There is, however, necessity for Chelsea to bring in more options in attack. Delap already represents at the very least an equal to Nicolas Jackson, if not an upgrade and potential long-term lock up front, while the Blues allowed Jadon Sancho to return to Manchester United after an underwhelming loan and have lost Mykhailo Mudryk indefinitely after he was charged with doping offences. It is also incredibly likely that they will move on Christopher Nkunku too, despite his heroics at the Club World Cup.

After Mudryk's suspension was extended just under a fortnight ago, head coach Enzo Maresca insisted he would have wanted another touchline winger, in this case Gittens, through the door regardless. "I think even here you see we have [Noni] Madueke and [Pedro] Neto as proper wingers. And then we try to adapt Tyrique [George], the other day he was inside for some minutes. And we try to adapt different players during the season. Christo [Nkunku] or Kieran [Dewsbury-Hall], but for sure it's something quite clear that it's a position that we need to improve."

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There was a roughness around the edges to Mudryk's game that could never quite be smoothed out following his mega-money move from Shakhtar Donetsk two-and-a-half years ago. What he did bring, however, was unpredictability and capability to stretch defences the way none of his team-mates could.

The lack of a transition-enacting, pace-setting winger was one of a few reasons why Maresca's Chelsea became easier to nullify in the second half of 2024-25. When a game slowed down, there was no immediate way to speed it back up again. Even if Mudryk had been available, his volatility and inconsistencies as a player meant he was not a reliable option anyway.

Sancho, meanwhile, came in for criticism for his lack of cutting edge, ranking among the bottom five percentile for wingers for shots taken per 90 minutes at just 1.22, while he ranked in the bottom nine percentile for open-play expected goals (via FBRef). He ended the Premier League campaign with three goals and five assists as six of his team-mates, including defender Marc Cucurella, outscored him.

The addition of Gittens, who is able to play quickly into space, slow play down with one-on-one dribbling and gets shots away – he came in the top 18 percentile among wide-men for shots at 2.58 per 90 minutes – should give Chelsea the best of both worlds they had with Mudryk and Sancho.

Getty Images SportYoung but experienced

The previous criticisms of Chelsea's lavish recruitment were that their purchases felt too haphazard and without strategy, while there was also concerns over the age profiles of most of their signings and whether they had overpaid for them. In addition to Delap at £30m ($41m), Pedro at slightly north of £50m ($69m) represents better value for money. Gittens at £55m ($76m) is a bit more of a risk, but still a lot more of a calculated one than some of their previous buys.

Crucially, they head to west London with plenty of minutes under their respective belts already. Pedro already has 216 senior games and three Brazil caps to his name, with Gittens at 107 but having played three seasons of Champions League football already at 20 years of age. Arriving at the club prior to pre-season, and in Pedro's case without having played at the Club World Cup, will also allow them more time for integration prior to the start of 2025-26.

In theory, these two buys should blow hot-and-cold a lot less than some of Chelsea's other new players of old. By the time the schedule becomes packed again, they should be up to speed and ready to meaningfully contribute.

AFPDestination for top talent

Amid the chaos of the last few years, Chelsea have maintained their standing as a club with an enormous amount of pull. Of course, part of that is down to their vast resources to pay wages comparable to the top teams in Europe, but there are also other key signs to suggest the owners' aim to make Stamford Bridge an attractive home for the most promising of young talent is on track.

Chelsea, to this point, have not been backed into a corner and forced to sell a key player they didn't want to. Their best assets have not even been reliably linked with exits. A squad harmony and unity have replaced the overcrowded and disinterested feel of BlueCo's first season at the wheel.

In Cole Palmer, who has exploded into one of the faces of the Premier League, the Blues have a shining example to sell to targets of the future. The year-on-year progress is also a major plus, even more so when contrasted against the scepticism around the club's strategy.