Chelsea wrapped up the signing of Brazilian sensation Oscar yesterday, the latest new addition to their ranks.
In sealing the signature of Oscar, set to star for Brazil at the Olympics, Chelsea took their summer spending spree to £66 million.
The fee for the 20-year-old midfielder is reported at £25 million, which can be added to Eden Hazard; £32 million, Thorgan Hazard; £2 million, and Marko Marin £7 million.
Surely it is inevitable the club will take their outlay over £100 million.
This is because the work on revitalising the squad is not yet complete. Chelsea need players for three positions, a striker a right winger and a right-back.
Up front, Chelsea urgently need a new face. They have Fernando Torres and Daniel Sturridge, while Romelu Lukaku is expected to head out on loan.
Names linked, Hulk, Cavani, Lewandowski, would all cost a minimum of £35 million each, easily taking Chelsea’s summer spending into three figures.
It is hard to see Chelsea spending less than £20 million on a striker, any target they aim for seems to automatically have their price pushed up.
Right-back’s linked include Maicon and Gregory van der Wiel, both in the £6-10 million range. While wingers include Victor Moses and Theo Walcott.
The key element to note here too is the £66 million is all net spend too. Of the players to leave the club; Kalou, Bosingwa, Drogba, they have been on free transfers.
So at £76 million and counting, how does Chelsea’s summer spending spree compare to previous seasons in the Abramovich era?
Summer 2012: Spending £66 million / Income: £0
Summer 2011: Spending: £67 million / Income: £20 million
Summer 2010: Spending: £23.3 million / Income: £12 million
Summer 2009: Spending: £23.5 million / Income: £6 million
Summer 2008: Spending: £24 million / Income: £35 million
Summer 2007: Spending £16 million / Income: £33 million
Summer 2006: Spending £12 million / Income: £15 million
Summer 2005: Spending: £112 million / Income: £20 million
Summer 2004: Spending: £56 million / Income: £12 million
Summer 2003: Spending £153 million / Income: 0.1 million
Note: Figures do not incorporate January spending.
As you can see, this summer’s transfer business is already the third highest outlay spent by Roman Abramovich during his time at the club. It has a long way to go before reaching 2003 proportions, and emulating that is unlikely, but there is a good chance it will become the second highest, outspending 2005 – £112 million (net spend £92 million).
It shows just how seriously Abramovich is taking this rebuilding process at the club, and how keen he is for Chelsea to recapture the Premier League title.
For an excellent take on how Financial Fair Play could affect Chelsea – Read here
To watch new signing Oscar in action – click the video below…
What do you think of Chelsea’s spending? Will it push them to the title?
image: © geetarchurchy
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