Key questions after Chelsea's unprecedented spending spree

Chelsea ripped up soccer's tra‐ ditional transfer rule book by embarking on a one‐of‐a‐kind spending spree over the past two windows that broke records and completely distorted the market.

Sixteen players signed. A total spend of $630 million. An inno‐ vative way of covering the huge costs to comply with financial rules.

To say the English club's new American ownership has made its presence felt in its first year in the world of soccer would be an understatement.

But, in an effort to remodel the squad in realistically the shortest possible timeframe, have Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital de‐ livered a masterstroke or will their cute plan ultimately un‐ ravel and prove reckless?

Here are the figures: Chelsea spent an unprecedented $280 million on new players in Eu‐ rope's summer transfer window, the first in the post‐Roman Abramovich era. Then, in Janu‐ ary, the club splashed out an es‐ timated $350 million on eight more players, headlined by the purchase — minutes before the window closed — of Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez for a British‐record fee of 106.7 mil‐ lion pounds ($131.4 million).

Premier League clubs spent a record $1 billion during the Jan‐ uary window, 90% more than the previous high from 2018 and almost triple the amount last year, according to soccer finance expert Deloitte. Chelsea ac‐ counted for 37% of the total league spend.

Chelsea's staggering outlay leaves a number of lingering questions, however.

HOW CAN CHELSEA AFFORD IT?

Chelsea is one of the world's wealthiest clubs ranking No. 8 in the Deloitte Football Money League. Revenue was 568.3 mil‐ lion euros ($620 million) last season. This season, Chelsea gets its usual share of Premier League broadcast rights though poten‐ tially less prize money based on its current position of 10th place. The 2021 Champions League winner should earn upward of 80 million euros ($87 million) from this season's competition. Chelsea plays Borussia Dort‐ mund in the round of 16. Chelsea's finances are monitored by the Premier League and UEFA to comply with rules drafted to help ensure spending is in line with legitimate income. By giving players contracts of seven or eight years, Chelsea has basically gamed the system by spreading "amortization" costs of transfer fees across the whole deal. UEFA plans to close this loophole.

CAN THEY DO IT AGAIN IN THE NEXT WINDOW?

Unlikely, and an aggressive sale of excess players is probable. More need to follow Jorginho, Timo Werner and Emerson

Palmieri leaving Stamford Bridge. UEFA's updated monitor‐ ing rules — no longer called "fi‐ nancial fair play" — kick in next season when clubs should limit their "squad cost" of transfers and wages to 90% of income. It drops to 70% in the 2025‐26 season. Still, UEFA lets clubs make losses up to 60 million euros ($65 million) over three years with an extra 10 million euros ($10.9 million) per year for those in "good financial health." And Boehly is a wealthy investor in sports and entertain‐ ment. UEFA sanctions also rarely deter the wealthiest and most in‐ fluential clubs. Chelsea will hit trouble by failing to qualify for a UEFA‐run European competition next season. That is now a real risk of income dropping by 100 million euros ($109 million).

HOW DOES THE SQUAD LOOK NOW?

Bloated but very strong. Chelsea has some of the world's most sought‐after young players — particularly Fernandez and Ukraine winger Mykhailo Mudryk, who are both 22 — and so much depth in many depart‐ ments. The spending appeared rather scattergun, though, with the squad now containing five players who prefer to play off the left wing — Mudryk, January loan signing Joao Felix, summer signings Raheem Sterling and Pierre‐Emerick Aubameyang, and Christian Pulisic — but being light on senior strikers, where Kai Havertz is now backed up by Armado Broja and a Janu‐ ary recruit from the Norwegian league, David Datro Fofana. Fer‐ nandez might be the most im‐ portant signing, given Chelsea's issues in midfield with N'Golo Kante injured and Jorginho al‐ lowed to leave for Arsenal.

WHICH PLAYERS ARE VULNERABLE?

Pulisic, the star player in U.S. soccer, must be concerned about his future given the competition for his spot. Similarly, Sterling — one of the big names of the Eng‐ lish game — is far from guaran‐ teed starts in the attack. And what about Hakim Ziyech, the Morocco winger who appeared to be leaving for Paris Saint‐Ger‐ main on deadline day only for paperwork issues to scupper the deal? The 31‐year‐old Kante might leave in the offseason while Kalidou Koulibaly is prob‐ ably the fourth‐choice center back after arriving last year as one of the marquee signings. And spare a thought for the young‐ sters in Chelsea's renowned academy, whose pathway to the senior team has become harder to find following the arrival of so many signings.

HOW HARD IS THE MANAGER'S JOB NOW?

Graham Potter knew he was walking into a huge job when he left the cosy environs of Brighton to join Chelsea for his first shot at big‐time management. Even he mightn't have comprehended the size of the challenge he would face. Chelsea is already out of both domestic cups and sits in 10th place in the Premier League — 10 points off the top four, leaving qualification for the Champions League unlikely. The best route for returning to Eu‐ rope's top tournament might be by winning it this season, and Chelsea has a round‐of‐16 matchup with Borussia Dort‐ mund to come. Considering the amount of arrivals, Potter likely doesn't know his best team and now has a stacked squad to sat‐ isfy — with no domestic cup games to give fringe players any time of the field. Expect to see a lot of disgruntled‐looking stars on the Chelsea bench in the com‐ ing weeks.