Over the years, Chelsea have become erratic with their spending under Todd Boehly, wasting huge amounts of money on players who unfortunately aren’t at the level required for the Premier League.
Kalidou Koulibaly, Mykahilo Mudryk and Raheem Sterling are just three examples of the club’s carelessness - with the latter being handed a £325k-per-week contract, making him the club’s joint-highest earner.
The trio easily cost the Blues upwards of £170m, with little return, with £89m man Mudryk only managing to find the net on seven occasions in his 58 appearances for the club.
chelsea-mudryk-madueke-sterling
Two of the aforementioned trio are attacking players and given their lack of impact, there’s no surprise to see new boss Enzo Maresca wanting to dip into the transfer market to make his own stamp on his side.
Chelsea’s attempts to secure a new attacker
Chelsea’s search for a new forward so far this summer has taken them all over the globe, but in recent days, they appear to be narrowing their search down.
According to The Athletic, Chelsea could be set to revive their interest in Atheltic Bilbao winger Nico Williams after his stellar Euro 2024 campaign.
Spain's Nico Williams celebrates scoring their sixth goal
The Spaniard registered two goals and one assist in his six outings, including the opening goal in the 2-1 victory over England on Sunday evening.
Maresca’s side have also been credited with an interest in signing Leeds United winger Crysencio Summerville, but face tough competition from Newcastle United for his signature.
The 22-year-old was in exceptional form last season, becoming a crucial player for Leeds in the Championship, scoring 19 goals and registering nine assists in the competition, in which they fell just short of promotion after a 1-0 defeat to Southampton at Wembley.
After their failure to secure an immediate return to the Premier League, the Dutchman is expected to depart Elland Road this summer, with journalist Ben Jacobs claiming that Chelsea are among the frontrunners for his services.
However, despite the respective interest in the pair, the club currently have one talent within their ranks who is worth more than the club’s transfer targets.
How much Cole Palmer is worth in 2024
A transfer that came out of the blue last summer was that of Cole Palmer, with Chelsea securing a £40m deal for the forward from Manchester City, with the youngster wanting more consistent first-team minutes.
Cole Palmer's Premier League stats (2023/24)
Statistics
Tally
Appearances
34
Assists
11
Big chances created
17
Key passes per game
2.1
Dribbles completed per game
1.5
Stats via Sofascore
It’s safe to say that he took full advantage of his first season at Stamford Bridge, producing some excellent stats which include 22 goals and 11 assists in his 34 league outings.
If it wasn’t for the 22-year-old’s contributions in front of goal, Chelsea would’ve been staring down the barrel of an extremely disappointing campaign, even missing out on any form of European competition.
As a result of his mesmerising displays, the “truly incredible” Palmer, as described by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has seen his market value soar to £67m, as per Transfermarkt - a £27m increase from the fee they paid for him last summer.
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Transfer targets Williams and Summerville are only currently valued at £50m and £16.8m, despite their respective big-money links with a move to Stamford Bridge.
The club have shown glimpses of the quality in signing talented players who can have an impact in the transfer window, with Palmer becoming one of the Blues’ most important talents in recent months.
The sky is the limit for the English youngster, with Maresca undoubtedly hoping that he can build on his impressive campaign from last season into 2024/25.
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