Wow. It's over. Breathe.
The 2023 January transfer window is officially over and what an utterly crazy, but equally enthralling, period it was for Chelsea Football Club. The Blues ended up making a total of eight additions over the window – more than anyone else in the Premier League.
Todd Boehly made a statement in the summer transfer window when Chelsea made eight signings, spending around £250million, but this month the club have spent even more on the same amount of players. The Blues spent over £300million on eight new additions to the squad.
READ MORE: Chelsea star accepts deadline day departure following Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke signings
It has been, again, such a manic window for Chelsea. So, with all of this being said, football.london goes behind the scenes to see how each and every one of Chelsea's eight signings last month were completed.
David Datro Fofana
Fofana was the first of Chelsea's January signings. The Ivorian striker was announced by the Blues officially on New Year's Day after signing from Molde for around £10.5million.
There was an expectation among supporters that the 20-year-old would be loaned out for the remainder of the season to continue his development elsewhere. However, Graham Potter has used Fofana in a few games off the bench thus far and he looks set to stay at Chelsea.
He's someone the scouting department at Chelsea have had their eye on for a while and someone who they believe will see their value rapidly increase as he keeps progressing. The window was not done there, though. Oh, no, far from it.
Benoit Badiashile
Badiashile signed from AS Monaco for around £34million on January 5 on a long-term contract. The 21-year-old had his heart set on a move to Chelsea as soon as they expressed their interest to his former club. It's understood he told officials within Monaco that he would be so grateful if they would allow him to make the switch to London.
The French defender had interest from elsewhere, including in the Premier League, but the appeal of Chelsea was too hard to turn down. Monaco were determined they would keep hold of Badiashile, at least until the end of the season, but Chelsea's offer, plus the player's desire, proved to be enough for the Ligue 1 club to accept in the end.
Andrey Santos
Santos is someone Chelsea officials have had their eye on for some time now and despite competition from elsewhere, the Blues confirmed on January 6 that the young Brazilian had completed a move to west London.
The 18-year-old was seen as the ideal midfielder for the club's 'Project 2030' which has been a big focus for Boehly ever since he took over the club last year. It looks as if Santos may get some opportunities in the first-team squad between now and the end of the season as he continues his development. If not, then Santos will go straight into the Development Squad at Cobham with some other fantastically gifted players.
Joao Felix
One that almost came out of nowhere. Felix put pen-to-paper on a six-month loan deal (with no option or obligation to buy) that would see him stay at Chelsea until the end of the season. The interest was certainly nothing new because as football.london reported in December, Chelsea had been watching Felix all season-long at Atletico Madrid.
The Blues struck a verbal agreement initially with Atletico where they would pay the Spanish club around €11million (£9.6million) for the Portugal international's services for the rest of the season. Felix wanted out of Atletico and was very keen as soon as Chelsea's interest became serious.
Atletico would rather have sold Felix on a permanent basis but were aware of the difficulties due to finances. Felix was bought by the Madrid-based outfit in 2019 for around £113million and recouping a decent portion of that fee would be tricky.
Mykhailo Mudryk
This one is a move that shocked and rocked the footballing world. Mudryk, who looked destined to join Arsenal last month, ended up signing a long-term deal at Chelsea. The Gunners were believed to be close to signing Mudryk at some points but were not willing to pay the sort of money that the Blues were.
Chelsea paid Shakhtar Donetsk an initial £62million which could rise to £88million with additional add-ons and bonuses. The 22-year-old was spotted in attendance at Chelsea's home match with Crystal Palace in January and he then was introduced to the home crowd at Stamford Bridge at half-time of the game the Blues ended up winning 1-0.
Noni Madueke
Chelsea's sixth signing of the January transfer window was Madueke from PSV Eindhoven. The Dutch club were adamant as soon as Chelsea's interest became public knowledge that they would not sell the 20-year-old winger.
PSV had already sold Cody Gakpo to Liverpool earlier in the month and did not want to lose another marquee player. However, Chelsea's lure was too much and Madueke had his heart set on a return to England after leaving Tottenham to make a move to the Netherlands in 2018.
Christopher Vivell, who was recently appointed as Chelsea's new technical director, pushed for this move, football.london understands. Vivell played a huge role in negotiations that eventually concluded with Madueke moving to Stamford Bridge on January 20.
Malo Gusto
Another one that was similar in terms of the employers not wanting to sell their player. Lyon were determined to keep hold of Gusto, a talented young right-back, but Chelsea ended up getting their man, albeit with a compromise.
Chelsea opened their bidding at around €17million (£14.9million) but Lyon were very swift to reject the offer. Talks continued with the French club and the Blues floated the idea of a €23million (£20.2million) offer not long after. Again, though, Lyon dismissed the project.
It did not deter the relentless Chelsea recruitment team, however, and they ended up getting Gusto for around £26.3million plus add-ons. Gusto, though, will remain at Lyon on loan until the end of the season.
There's a genuine belief from Chelsea's side that the 19-year-old right-back can become world-class if his development continues to be successful. That's why he was not short of admirers.
Barcelona, Real Madrid, Newcastle United and Manchester United had all expressed an interest in the new Chelsea man prior to his move. Newcastle even came calling in the final hours before Chelsea had officially struck a deal, but it was too late for the Magpies.
Enzo Fernandez
The big one. It took its damn time but we got there. Just.
Chelsea first approached Benfica over a deal to sign Fernandez at the back-end of December. The Portuguese club did not want to sell the 21-year-old midfielder, who had only been at the club since last summer.
However, there was a £105million release clause inserted in the Argentine's contract at the Estadio da Luz, meaning there was little Benfica could do if a club was to meet said fee. Chelsea made their intentions clear early on; they were willing to do just that, but they wanted it to be spread over multiple instalments rather than one fee.
So, the dilemma, which genuinely lasted all window-long, was how the fee would be structured. Chelsea wanted to spread the cost over five instalments, while Benfica, in an ideal world, would have wanted the £105million up front.
A compromise was reached, though, in the final hours of the January transfer window. Chelsea supporters all over social media rejoiced as the club confirmed a British record signing of Fernandez, who will undoubtedly improve Potter's options for the midfield.
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