Chelsea “never intended to be big buyers” as they defend second failed window in a row | OneFootball

Chelsea fans are largely unhappy with the club’s January efforts, which failed to address the team’s immediate needs.

Liam Twomey’s article for the Athletic today tries to put a positive spin on it, but he is as aware as the rest of us of the failings of this window. He claimed that this month was about “laying the groundwork” for next summer more than anything:

“Chelsea, who never intended to be big buyers in the winter market, largely restricted themselves to conversations that lay the groundwork for a more active summer,” he wrote, calling it “probably the sensible move.”

Well, we’ll see about that. If the team tumble out of the top 4, it will be seen as quite the opposite. It sounds a lot like Twomey is hearing that from figures at the club.

A year of spending without a resounding success

Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart in their temporary office. (Photo by Geoff Pugh/The Telegraph)

As we have pointed out before, it’s not just this January which has disappointed. Look back at the summer and you’ll see another wave of cash spent with little actual effect on the first team.

Pedro Neto is in and out of the team. Joao Felix and Renato Veiga are already gone. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is for sale already. Omari Kellyman hasn’t played a minute. The list goes on. We’ve had a year of spending without a single first team regular being uncovered, let alone a star player.

Twomey agrees on that too, although he puts it in very gentle terms:

“Chelsea’s successes in the first eight months of Maresca have been largely powered on the pitch by a core of the signings they made in 2023: Palmer, Caicedo, Jackson, Enzo Fernandez, Madueke,” he wrote.

“Any immediate benefits of their incoming business from 2024 have been more marginal and, to the vocal frustration of some supporters, left some of the team’s biggest needs unaddressed while creating one or two more potentially challenging sales.”