While Chelsea's transfer window may have got off to a quiet start, nobody could accuse it of being uneventful with just under three weeks to go. The Blues have spent £162.5 million on first-team additions, with further business completed for the likes of Gabriel Slonina and a number of exciting prospects for the development squad.
Thomas Tuchel will have been reassured that Kalidou Koulibaly, Raheem Sterling and Marc Cucurella were among Chelsea's most impressive players against Everton on the opening day against Everton. An acclimatisation period is expected, and fees will need to be justified, but things seem set in the right direction for the signings so far.
Carney Chukwuemeka's absence from the squad will have been expected in his opening week with a Chelsea squad laden with midfielders. The England youngster will have to battle against N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, Conor Gallagher and Ruben Loftus-Cheek for his place in midfield or against the likes of Sterling, Mason Mount and others if utilised upon the wing. Much will be expected given his £20 million fee, but it will not be an easy path.
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There's little doubting Chelsea have signed quality, but it has not come without chaos. The negotiations and waits for the likes of Jules Kounde, Raphinha and Matthijs de Ligt probably played out too publically for most people's taste. Ultimately the time spent on deals that the club was unsuccessful in is the greater frustration.
The task Todd Boehly set himself by becoming interim sporting director in his opening months as Chelsea owner cannot be underestimated. The failures of last term left Chelsea behind where they were a year ago and a number of areas on the pitch where the transition has not been managed efficiently. Ultimately, the signings so far will be judged by their success over the season. Sterling and Koulibaly are easy to present with good deals, while many might believe Cucurella's singing was expensive, even if it allowed Levi Colwill's departure to only be on loan.
There remains work to be done, however. Chelsea lost two central defenders in Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen and have only brought two in, and Thiago Silva will be set to be out of contract at the end of the season. The addition of Cucurella adds depth to a position that got exposed when Ben Chilwell was injured last season while opening the door to enable Marcos Alonso's departure. In midfield, both Jorginho and N'Golo Kante are yet to begin negotiations to extend their deals past next summer, while many questions the creativity available in the position.
That leads us to business still to come, transfers that could make or break a season for the Blues. The club have been tracking Wesley Fofana and Frenkie de Jong, with a third bid set to be made for the former.
Brendan Rodger's stance has changed from 'not for sale' to an offer being made that is 'nowhere near' Fofana's value. It's a process, now the season has started, that is starting to stretch out, however, and the possibility of a world record bid is required. Boehly will strive for the best deal but will soon have to decide whether the haggling stops or risk missing other targets too.
Likewise, with Frenkie de Jong, while Chelsea have not been involved for the full summer, the Dutchman's relationship with Barcelona is already a saga in itself. football.london understands Chelsea are confident they can reach a deal with the Catalan club but are once again faced with a situation where the player does not necessarily want to depart Camp Nou. Chelsea appears willing to walk away and, given the history of this summer, will know the importance of doing so.
With 20 days still to go, many twists and turns are sure to remain. It's been a positive start in terms of incoming players, but despite the money already spent, it's clear the ambition is to spend more to ensure Chelsea challenge this season.
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