I believe Chelsea have given Thomas Tuchel two players in two positions that are pressing needs to help turn this squad from top four challengers to title challengers.
The only slight disappointment is missing out on signing Jules Kounde from Sevilla. But that wasn’t such a pressing need as a new centre midfielder in my opinion, and Kounde can wait until the next window being a player potentially arriving for the long term.
Romelu Lukaku
Chelsea NEEDED a real number 9, a striker who will come in an instantly score goals and make an impact, a striker who was ready-made and already proven – Lukaku is that guy.
Not only is Lukaku a natural born goal scorer, his experience and influence will also be massive for Chelsea this season and going forward. He doesn’t only bring all the qualities of an all-round striker, he also brings a top mentality and influence to others in this squad.
He is the big-name striker that Tuchel wanted, and the striker that will make an instant impact.
Saul Niguez
Talking of all-round quality players, Saul Niguez is exactly this. Signing him on deadline day on a loan deal with an option to buy is an absolute no brainer in my opinion. It’s a low-risk move that can also bring so many benefits.
With Chelsea playing with two number 6s and only having three real options there for that role right now, bringing Saul in was a genius move. With N’Golo Kante struggling with injuries these last couple of years, we definitely needed an extra centre midfielder that can play in the 6.
Saul has it all about his game and is exactly the type of player that Tuchel likes, he has the grit and energy and he is ready to fight on the pitch. But not only that he brings real quality, he is clever on the ball, can score goals, create, and also be a real asset defensively. He can dribble the ball well and play in a number of different positions.
What makes this window better? We ended in it net profit of around £30m despite spending almost £100m on Lukaku! We did some really shrewd transfer business in terms of sales and loans, don’t forget on average every loan brings in a fee of something between £1m-£2m and that’s not included in our net spend profit figure above.
And all this during a time where many clubs are still struggling financially after the pandemic!
