Chelsea’s £271.1MILLION splurge: Spending the most money in Premier League history in single summer
Chelsea have made history after becoming the Premier League’s biggest ever spenders in a single transfer window, splashing out an eye-watering £271.1million over the summer.
Led by new co-owner Todd Boehly, Thomas Tuchel’s side signed 11 players before the window slammed shut at 11pm on Thursday night, with their most expensive recruit – £69.5m Wesley Fofana – joining from Leicester on the penultimate day.
Fofana joins the likes of Denis Zakaria (loan) , Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£10m), Marc Cucurella (£62m), Raheem Sterling (£50m), Kalidou Koulibaly (£34m) and a host of young talent in joining the Premier League giants this summer.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang completed Chelsea’s summer spending with a £10million move
Blues co-owner Todd Boehly (centre) splashed out a whopping £271.1m over the summer
Boehly’s summer of lavish spending ensured Chelsea broke Manchester City’s record for most money invested in a single window, which they set at £223.65m in 2017.
Sterling kicked things off by completing a sensational move from City to their Premier League rivals, penning a five-year deal worth more than £300,000-a-week with the London club.
Chelsea forked out £50m for Sterling, who left City as their second top scorer in European football, only behind Sergio Aguero, in search of more regular playing time ahead of this winter’s World Cup in Qatar.
The Blues also confirmed the surprise signing of Koulibaly from Napoli in a deal worth £34m. The defender was their second summer arrival, signing a four-year contract to help strengthen Tuchel’s defence after the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
Thomas Tuchel’s side made history by spending more than any club during a single window
Chelsea confirmed the signing of Wesley Fofana, 21, for £69.5million earlier this week
Tuchel continued to reinforce his backline by signing Cucurella from Brighton.
The Spanish full-back signed a six-year deal at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea paying an initial fee of £55m, plus a potential £7m in bonuses.
Zakaria completed a season-long loan move to Chelsea from Juventus on deadline day, having emerged as a late target for Tuchel amid concerns about N’Golo Kante’s fitness.
The deal includes an option to buy the midfielder for £30m once his loan spell ends next summer.
Chelsea’s biggest signing of the summer was Fofana, who put pen-to-paper on a huge seven-year contract with Tuchel’s side after forcing through an exit from Leicester after weeks of talks.
The Blues had to part ways with £69.5m for the Foxes centre back, who admits he is aiming to emulate Blues ‘legends’ Claude Makelele and Marcel Desailly.
As well as spending big on established players, Chelsea also splashed out £12.6m on highly-rated Inter Milan youngster Cesare Casadei, £20m on Aston Villa starlet Carney Chukwuemeka and £13m on talented goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina from Chicago Fire.
Aubameyang and Zakaria finished the club’s busy summer on deadline day, arriving to boost Tuchel’s squad as they look to bounce back from a midweek defeat at Southampton.
Raheem Sterling signed for Chelsea after leaving Premier League giants Manchester City
Chelsea confirmed the signing of the Barcelona forward in a deal worth £10m late on Thursday night.
The former Arsenal captain signed a two-year contract with the west London side, in a deal that also saw Marcos Alonso released from his contract to head the other way.
The move marks a quick return to England for Aubameyang, who only joined the Catalan side in February on a free after his exit from Arsenal.
The deal will also see Aubameyang reunited with his former boss, Tuchel. The pair previously worked together at Borussia Dortmund.
Speaking to the club website, Aubameyang said: ‘I’m really happy. It’s an honour to be part of this team and I can’t wait to start. I have some unfinished business with the Premier League so it’s good to be back and really exciting.’
Chelsea also snapped up Southampton goalkeeper Eddie Beach during the summer window. He joined the Blues’ academy for an undisclosed fee.
Omari Hutchinson, a skillful attacking midfielder, also joined from Arsenal for an undisclosed fee. The pair are likely to remain with the club’s Under 23s this season.
Jim Fraser, Chelsea’s assistant head of youth development and head of youth recruitment, told the club’s official website: ‘We are very pleased to bring Eddie to the club.
Former Brighton star Marc Cucurella was another one of Thomas Tuchel’s summer signings
Chelsea also secured the services of Kalidou Koulibaly (above) from Napoli this summer
Chelsea’s summer spending comes just one year after the bought Kai Havertz (£72m), Timo Werner (£47.7m), Ben Chilwell (£45m), Hakim Ziyech (£36m) and Edouard Mendy (£21.6m)
‘He is a talented goalkeeper with good potential and will join our development squad for the coming season.’
Chelsea’s huge summer of spending comes after they bought Kai Havertz (£72m), Timo Werner (£47.7m), Ben Chilwell (£45m), Hakim Ziyech (£36m) and Edouard Mendy (£21.6m) in 2020.
Chelsea were not the only club to spend big this summer. The combined outgoings of the 20 Premier League clubs during the window was 67 per cent higher than the previous summer’s total of £1.1bn.
As a result, they spent more than Spain’s LaLiga, Italy’s Serie A and Germany’s Bundesliga combined this summer.
As well as beating Manchester City’s Premier League spending record from 2017, Chelsea also trumped their own record from 2020 when they spent a total of £222.48m.