The strangest feature of a summer transfer window littered with questionable calls is that Chelsea, for once, do not appear to be responsible for any of the worst ones. Quite the reverse. In terms of both arrivals and departures, the club have navigated the July and August market so impressively that talk of an improbable Premier League title challenge no longer feels entirely fanciful.
Since BlueCo took control at Stamford Bridge four years ago, Chelsea have too often been held up as an example of how not to operate: impulsive, overconfident, wasteful and easily outmanoeuvred. The £40million paid to Manchester United for Alejandro Garnacho this time last year still stands out as the piece de resistance of that era.
United’s decision-makers have not exactly built a reputation for transfer-market mastery either, but even they must have struggled to keep a straight face after completing that deal. It was a move so extravagant it almost redefined recklessness, even in a Premier League already associated with excess, inflated fees and questionable judgment.
When I watched Chelsea face Fulham at Craven Cottage on the Premier League’s opening weekend, there were still defensive flaws to be seen. Yet the broader message was unmistakable. This looks like a team that will be compelling viewing all season, and, just as importantly, the mood around the club feels markedly different.
The £117million spent on Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa was a huge outlay, but he has quickly become part of a thrilling attacking trio alongside Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro. Supporters are already testing out nicknames for the new front line. Palmer has dismissed ‘JP Morgan’ as ‘rubbish’, while ‘CPR’ has also been floated. That one works rather better, not least because Chelsea were a club badly in need of resuscitation.
Chelsea’s new front three of Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers have made an immediate impact
Co-owner Behdad Eghbali has faced heavy criticism, but after Chelsea’s summer business and encouraging early signs, he may yet have the final say
Rogers’ arrival, though, is only part of the story. Eghbali has made errors with managerial choices in the past, but landing Xabi Alonso in the summer was a major coup. Just as significantly, he recognised that Chelsea’s reluctance to recruit experienced players had become a weakness and showed the willingness to alter course.
It is fair to ask questions why it took the club so long to accept that they could not challenge for the title with Robert Sanchez in goal but when he made two errors that could have cost them victory against Fulham, they acted to rectify the problem. Within a few days, they had paid Villa £7.5million to sign 33-year-old Emiliano Martinez.
Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck had already arrived. And even if Henderson has not played yet and Welbeck has only played in the Carabao Cup, they are already making an impact on the team spirit and attitude at the club. You only need to look at the body language of the players to see there is a new togetherness at Chelsea.
The club is starting to look less like a trading post and more like an outfit intent on winning things. Gone are the days when their former manager Enzo Maresca celebrated wildly because Chelsea had spent over a billion pounds and finished fourth. It has taken a while but Chelsea look joined up now. They look joined up and grown up.
They have made some breathtaking sales, too. If people laughed at them for spending £40million on Garnacho, the boot is on the other foot now. Chelsea paid £30million for Liam Delap in the summer of 2025 and even though he was a bust at Stamford Bridge who only scored one league goal in 28 games, they just sold him for £45million to Nottingham Forest.
Andrey Santos had looked ordinary in their midfield but they got £50million for him from United, Aston Villa paid £65million for Nicolas Jackson and Como paid £30million for Trevoh Chalobah. The loss of Marc Cucurella to Real Madrid was a loss of quality but Jorrel Hato appears to have stepped into that gap with some aplomb.
The best deal of all may still be to come: there are suggestions that Maresca will try to persuade Manchester City to buy midfielder Enzo Fernandez on deadline day for a fee that would comfortably exceed the £106.8million that Chelsea paid to buy him from Benfica three years ago.
Fernandez has some admirers but the reality is that Chelsea overpaid for him. He was the engine room of a team that finished 10th last season, don’t forget, and he has become a toxic presence. If Chelsea shift him to City, they will rid themselves of a problem and pass that problem on to a rival.
Chelsea paid £30m for Liam Delap a year ago and even though he was a bust who only scored one league goal in 28 games, they just sold him for £45m to Nottingham Forest
Chelsea also managed to convince Aston Villa to pay £65m for Nicolas Jackson (right)
If Chelsea shift Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City, they will rid themselves of a problem and pass that problem on to a rival
It all points to a Chelsea team that has been transformed. A Chelsea ownership that has matured. A Chelsea side that was widely mocked last season is now looking like the great entertainer. ‘Not too Xabi,’ the new sign at the Shed End, sums up the change in confidence in the crowd.
They will miss Moises Caicedo, who was injured again in the 4-3 victory over Brighton on Sunday, and their 26 per cent share of possession in that victory, their lowest for 22 years, suggests issues with control of midfield but their attacking trident, bolstered by Pedro Neto off the bench, has been good enough to overcome those issues.
This weekend, Arsenal await. But this time, Chelsea will travel to the Emirates not as a joke team that everyone is laughing at but at a side that many see as legitimate title challengers. Arsenal will be a stern examination for Alonso and his team, a litmus test for quite how far they have travelled.
So far, the evidence is that things have changed. Chelsea are a club that finally got serious.
Respect is a two-way street
I always consider it a sign of respect when a player does not celebrate scoring a goal on a return to a club they once played for.
I understand why some people think that unrealistic and misguided but to me it feels like a decent nod to a past relationship.
Joao Pedro celebrates his goal against his former club Brighton by pointing to the Chelsea badge
It feels like an acknowledgment that there is something that lasts longer than a move to another club, a bond that is still shared.
Despite that, the criticism of Joao Pedro for celebrating his goal for Chelsea in front of visiting Brighton fans at Stamford Bridge on Sunday was wrong. I wasn’t at the game but I know that Brighton’s former striker missed a sitter in front of the away contingent not long before he scored. I imagine he was mocked with some glee by Brighton fans for that.
In those circumstances, it is hard to blame Joao Pedro for responding in kind after he put Chelsea 3-0 up. Respect cuts both ways.
