A record-breaking £271.1 million was spent by Chelsea in the 2022 summer transfer window, making them the Premier League’s highest-ever spenders in a single transfer window.
Thomas Tuchel’s team, led by new co-owner Todd Boehly, added 11 players before the transfer market closed at 11 p.m. on Thursday, September 1. Their most expensive acquisition, £69.5m Wesley Fofana, arrived from Leicester on a penultimate day.
In joining the Premier League heavyweights this summer, Fofana follows in the footsteps of players like Denis Zakaria (loan), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£10m), Marc Cucurella (£62m), Raheem Sterling (£50m), Kalidou Koulibaly (£34m), and a host of other talents.
Chelsea broke Manchester City’s record for the most money invested in a single window, which they set at £223.65 million in 2017, thanks to Boehly’s summer of extravagant spending.
Beginning things off was Sterling’s surprise transfer from Premier League rivals City to the London club, where he signed a five-year deal for more than £300,000 per week.
Sterling, who departed City as their second-highest scorer in European competition, only behind Sergio Aguero, in quest of more consistent playing time ahead of this winter’s World Cup in Qatar, was acquired by Chelsea for £50 million.
The Blues also announced the unexpected £34 million acquisition of Koulibaly from Napoli. After Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen left, the defender was their second summer addition. He signed a four-year deal to improve Tuchel’s defense after their departures.
Below are the players Chelsea signed in the record-breaking 2022 summer transfer window:
Wesley Fofana (Leicester), 69.5 million
£10 million for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Barca)
Raheem Sterling ($50 million; Manchester City)
Kalidou Koulibaly, Napoli, £34 million
– £13m Gabriel Slonina, Chicago Fire
£20 million Carney Chukwuemeka, Aston Villa
(Inter Milan) Cesare Casadei £12.6 million.
62 million pounds Marc Cucurella, Brighton
Loan: Denis Zakaria, Juventus
Unknown Eddie Beach (Southampton)
Unknown Omari Hutchinson (Arsenal)
Chelsea added Cucurella from Brighton to its backline to further fortify it.
The six-year contract between Chelsea and the Spanish full-back included an initial payment of £55 million plus potential bonus payments of an additional £7 million.
On the final day of the transfer window, Zakaria, a late target for Tuchel because of doubts over N’Golo Kante’s fitness, moved from Juventus on a season-long loan to Chelsea.
When the midfielder’s loan period is over next summer, there is a £30 million buyout option included in the agreement.
Fofana, who signed a massive seven-year contract with Tuchel’s team after forcing through an exit from Leicester after weeks of negotiations, was Chelsea’s greatest acquisition of the summer.
The Foxes center-back, who confesses he wants to be like Blues greats Claude Makelele and Marcel Desailly, cost the Blues £69.5 million to acquire.
Along with making significant investments in well-known players, Chelsea also spent a lot of money on promising young players. Cesare Casadei of Inter Milan cost £12.6 million, Carney Chukwuemeka of Aston Villa cost £20 million, and talented goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina of Chicago Fire cost £13 million.
On deadline day, Aubameyang and Zakaria completed the club’s hectic summer transfer window, bolstering Tuchel’s squad as they seek to recover from a midweek loss at Southampton.
