Chelsea had best transfer window in years but failure to offload players may leave Lampard with huge fractured squad

THIS summer’s transfer window was one of the most extraordinary of recent times.

For starters it was longer than it would normally be and ended up carrying over into the start of October due to the global coronavirus pandemic..

Chelsea fans are excited at how far Kai Havertz can go at the clubCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Not only did this play havoc, with the season being delayed, it has also proved devastating to many football clubs struggling with finances as a result.

This made it a different kind of window, with only the top teams being able to spend big.

Whilst it was great for the likes of Chelsea in terms of player arrivals, it really did put a spanner in the works of plans to oust a number of deadwood players.

Upon reflection though, I have to say this has been the best transfer window for Chelsea for many years regardless.

The two major areas of improvement needed have been addressed – the defence, and the ability to create more chances and have more finesse up top.

At the back they have added the giant that is Edouard Mendy, who fits the profile of the dominant goalkeeper that Frank Lampard wanted.

Then in front of him, the world class and experienced Thiago Silva has come in to help solve their leaky defence.

At the opposite end, Kai Havertz is the real star boy who’s arrived. He is perhaps the first player they have signed who will really fill the creative void that Eden Hazard left last summer.

Frank Lampard was delighted to bring in left-back Ben ChilwellCredit: EPA

Antonio Rudiger was heavily linked with a move away – but decided to stick around and fight for his placeCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Then we have Timo Werner who will be providing more finesse up top, and Hakim Ziyech to bring even more creativity out wide or centrally.

Another area of weakness was the left back position, and Ben Chilwell coming in as Lampard’s main long-term target for that role really was the cherry on top.

If we wanted to be really fussy we could complain about a lack of a real defensive midfielder arriving, which is also what Lampard wanted.

Declan Rice was his long-term target there, but they will likely now go back in for him in January or in the summer.

This would have made an already brilliant transfer window even better in terms of arrivals, but it’s certainly not a major issue.

It will be a shock to see Marcos Alonso in the blue of Chelsea againCredit: Alamy Live News

Lampard would have much preferred to have sold a number of his fringe players, but due to the current climate it is just impossible to find permanent buyers, and even loan moves failed due to high wages and loan fees.

It was just not a selling window if you wanted to get maximum fees for your players, and this could end up causing problems for Lampard in terms of overall squad morale.

You can’t really blame anyone here; the club want to get the best deals possible, and this means waiting until the next window or next summer.

But you can’t deny the fact that it leaves for a large squad in some areas, and some players could become unhappy not playing at all, which many will have to face up to.

The signing of Edouard Mendy looks to have cast Kepa aside for goodCredit: Reuters

Chelsea have Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri still at the club, that is three left backs who will want to be playing regularly, yet two of them won’t be.

Failing to move Antonio Rudiger on leaves them with five centre backs, which again, is one too many.

This is before even mentioning players such as Danny Drinkwater and Victor Moses, who are still Chelsea players at the time of writing.

To conclude, Chelsea have built themselves a much stronger squad than last season.

It is a squad that really should be challenging the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool to the Premier League title and at the very least will be bringing a domestic trophy in.

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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk